Long Beach : Judge Refuses to Reinstate Therapy License for Doyle

Judith M. Doyle, a well-known activist in the gay and lesbian community of Long Beach, has lost a last-ditch effort to have her license to practice family therapy reinstated. The license was revoked in July following allegations that Doyle had been involved in a sexual relationship with a female client in 1983.

This week, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Ross rejected arguments by Doyle’s attorney, Peter J. Zomber, that the personal relationship had not begun until after the therapeutic relationship ended. The ethical standards for therapists at the time, he argued, did not prohibit such a relationship.

“Obviously we’re not happy,” Zomber said following the judge’s ruling.