Key Biscayne psychologist called a mom he never met ‘delusional’ in custody case
The small problem for Key Biscayne psychologist John Moran was that his consultation report for a father in an Oregon child custody case was made outside the time frame of his visitor’s permit to practice in Oregon.
The bigger problem was what Moran put in the report: repeatedly calling the child’s mother “delusional” and suggesting she should have no custodial rights, though he never met the woman or had any evidence for his claims.
For these ethical violations, the state of Oregon fined Moran $3,000 ($500 for practicing without a license, $2,500 for violating the ethical standard for Basis for Assessments). In November, the Florida Department of Health filed an administrative complaint to begin reciprocal discipline. Florida statue 490.009(1)(b) says a psychologist can be disciplined in Florida “for having a license to practice a comparable profession revoked, suspended, or otherwise acted against” by another state, country or territory.
Both Moran’s Florida license, which he gained in November 2022, and the Arizona license he’s had since 1984 have clean discipline records. But before Moran added his Florida license, he got a visitor’s permit to work in Oregon, which allowed him to practice up to 30 days between Mar. 26, 2021 and Mar. 25, 2022.
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Statements out of bounds (in several ways)
The final order by the Oregon Board of Psychology says Moran neither admits nor denies what follows from the board’s findings of fact, but “the board finds that [Moran] engaged in the conduct described...”
Moran’s visitor’s permit had been expired for a month on April 26, 2022 when he gave a consultation report to an Oregon father’s attorney for use in a child custody case.
“In the report conclusions, [Moran] suggested that the court change the legal and physical custody of the children exclusively to father “while mother’s delusional disorder is receiving treatment,” the final order’s findings of fact said. “In the report conclusions, [Moran] suggested that the mother receive individual treatment “to resolve her delusional disorder.”
But, Moran “never interviewed or met the mother and had an insufficient objective basis on which to determine that she met the criteria for delusional disorder,” the findings of fact said. “Nevertheless, he referred to the mother’s purported delusional disorder in at least three places in the report and included in his report a definition of delusion, and summary of the characteristics of delusional disorder.”
