A Scottsbluff mental health counselor has had his state license revoked for at least 2 years for having a 3-year sexual relationship with a client.
Michael Leach agreed to the penalty following an investigation by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the State Health and Human Services Department.
Leach had been licensed as a mental health practitioner, a counselor and a drug and alcohol counselor.
Health and Human Services said Leach had treated a woman for post-traumatic stress and depression following her hospitalization in 2014. After 2 years, the relationship became sexual and continued until the woman ended it in 2019.
Nebraska licensing rules say it’s “unprofessional conduct” for such a practitioner to engage in a “sexually intimate, dating or romantic relationship” with a client during counseling or within five years of ending such services.
The revocation settlement was signed May 10, but released only recently. When reached by the Nebraska Examiner by phone on Friday, Leach said the case and license revocation has left his life in chaos.