Two evaluations of a boy, 6 years apart, got a Coral Gables child psychologist suspended
The license of a Coral Gables clinical child psychologist is suspended by the state Board of Psychology until she’s evaluated by Professionals Resource Network, one of the programs that deals with impaired healthcare professionals.
According to the final order of the Board of Psychology, if Dr. Tricia Cassel is “diagnosed with a condition that prevents [Cassel] from practicing psychology with reasonable skill and safety to patients, [Cassel] shall comply with any and all terms and conditions imposed by PRN as a result of the evaluation.
“If [Cassel] is not in need of monitoring or treatment and PRN is not suitable, no further action will be required.”
Cassel also has been fined $1,000 and ordered to pay the Florida Department of Health’s investigative costs of $2,816.48.
The final order announcing Cassel’s suspension, which posted May 13, says she didn’t file a response to the Department of Health’s administrative complaint within 21 days, nor did she or her attorney attend the final hearing.
Cassel’s online Department of Health profile says she has been licensed since Jan. 7, 2010, with no previous discipline issues.
Second test, same as the first?
A pair of evaluations of the same patient, six years apart, triggered the administrative complaint.
The complaint says she saw a 10-year-old boy in May 2014 and, after testing and talking with the child, she did a psychoeducational evaluation, a detailed analysis of a child’s learning strengths and weaknesses at that moment.
An evaluation might say, for example, that a child has a well-above average IQ, and the spatial relations of a future architect, but might be hampered by memory issues and severe ADHD.
Because these psychoeducational evaluations are supposed to be current, they’re to be done more than once. The child was brought in again in June 2020 for another one. The complaint says, despite there being six more years of history, the evaluation from 2020 was “identical or nearly identical” to the one in 2014 in developmental and medical history; psychological history; academic history and functioning; summary under test discussion; the report summary; conclusions; and “60 separate scores in the addendum.”
In other words, it looked like Cassel recycled the 2014 evaluation.
Cassel didn’t meet the minimum standards of performance, the complaint said, when she “failed to integrate and draw conclusions regarding” the patient (in the 2020 evaluation) based on testing as well as [Cassel’s] evaluation and assessment ... in June 2020.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
