After having sex with a marriage-therapy client, counselor gets an Iowa license

By: Clark Kauffman

Outlets: Iowa Capital Dispatch

Published: March 6, 2026

Words: 593

Last Updated: 3 days, 20 hours ago

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Iowa regulators have awarded a marital-therapy license to a man who had sex with a female client while providing her and her husband with marriage counseling.

According to the California Board of Behavior Science, Gary Bell, a marriage counselor and family therapist, was providing marriage counseling to a couple, B.L. and his wife S.L., in 2017. On Dec. 12, 2017, after three counseling sessions over six weeks, Bell and S.L. agreed to meet privately in …

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