Once deemed a ‘danger to the public,’ psychologist can resume practice

The state of Iowa has agreed to restore the licensing privileges of a psychologist who was deemed a threat to public safety in 2023.

The Iowa Board of Psychology agreed last month to a gradual lift of restrictions placed on the license of Angela Perkins of College Park Neuropsychology in Cedar Rapids.

Under the terms of a recent, board-approved order, Perkins will be able to return to practice on a part-time basis under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. If she complies with the terms of both the order and a previously imposed probationary agreement, she will be allowed to see patients on a full-time basis within four months.

The reinstatement follows a February 2023 order by the board that included a set of allegations against Perkins that the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing publicly disclosed for the first time this week in response to an Open Records Law request.

The charging documents, which had been heavily redacted for the past 20 months, indicate Perkins was the focus of five separate complaints alleging she had performed neuropsychological testing of several patients without ever producing a report of her findings. Some of the tests were conducted as far back as the spring of 2021, almost two years prior to the board taking action in the matter.

According to the board, Perkins also failed to respond to board inquiries on the matter.

The board found that Perkins’ failure to produce the neuropsychological reports “caused harm to multiple clients,” and that her unrestricted practice of psychology posed “an immediate danger to the public, health, safety and welfare.”

The board issued an emergency order prohibiting Perkins from providing any clinical services or initiating any new psychological evaluations of clients.

Six months later, in August 2023, the board placed Perkins’ license on probation for three years and required her to undergo a comprehensive fitness-for-duty examination, including a psychological evaluation.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Perkins for comment. Calls to her office were routed to a voicemail account that does not accept messages.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.