All the details in our Health Safety stories come from publicly available Final Orders, Consent Orders, Orders of Suspension and other documents from the Virginia Department of Health Professionals. For more information, see the Editor’s note below the story.
CHARLOTTESVILLE – A client was in session with Brian Hocking, a clinical psychologist working in Charlottesville. She felt uncomfortable opening up to him, worried she might make him angry.
The client and Hocking began to see each other for therapy in September 2006. By April 2008, they were meeting on a nearly daily basis.
On April 17, 2008, the client told Hocking she was uncomfortable. Her lack of progress was a sign the two were not a good fit, but Hocking did not recommend a new treatment provider.
They continued to see each other.
The two argued over a political bumper sticker on Hocking's car. “The bumper sticker says ‘[political candidate] for president,’ not ‘F*** you, [client],’” Hocking said in a voicemail. He said he was concerned about her rigidity and moral stance, and this was why she had not made progress in therapy.
Hocking’s office had an unspecified problem with the client’s insurance. She left a tearful and critical voicemail for Hocking over the issue. Hocking later told the client she was devaluing him as a therapist by implying he was not doing his job correctly. He was frustrated, and acknowledged he might “like [her] too much.”
Treatment continued from 2006 to 2018, only breaking for three months in 2012 and from January 2015 to September 2016. Throughout, Hocking told the client details about his life without clear therapeutic purpose.
In 2011, client and Hocking argued. The client told investigators she got up to leave, and Hocking slammed the door, hitting her arm and back. Hocking told investigators she left his office raging and accused him of assaulting her as he was closing the door behind her.
They continued to see each other.
In 2017, a friend of the client was in crisis, expressing suicidal ideation. She texted Hocking, suggesting her friend might be better off in a Starbucks than the emergency room.
“[L]ast [he] heard Starbucks couldn’t pump someone’s stomach, sew up slashed wrists or treat acute paranoia,” he responded. The client emailed thanks for the help, but said she was hurt by the graphic response.
“Your hostility knows no bounds,” he responded. He wrote he “should have known that a tongue in cheek comment about Starbucks and ER visit would be ok” if it came from her, but he would get “no such latitude.”
He later said she was ungrateful for his help, provided outside of clinical hours, and asked why she criticized him. She said she thought she was supposed to share her feelings with her therapist. Hocking said he had not seen her in “weeks,” and was not sure if they would see each other in therapy again.
They continued to see each other.
She stopped seeing him in February 2018. Around July 2020, she asked Hocking for telehealth appointments.
“I’ll pass,” Hocking responded.
Hocking voluntarily surrendered the right to renew his license to practice clinical psychology to the Virginia Board of Psychology rather than face disciplinary action, according to an order entered in November 2023.
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To file a formal complaint against a health professional, click here . For links to the public information informing this story, see below.
Want to know if your doctors, other medical professionals or local pharmacies have been investigated? Check out the license lookup.
EDITOR’S NOTE: When citizens are a danger to the public safety, law enforcement arrests them and charges them with crimes; they have the opportunity to face a jury of their peers; if convicted, they serve time and/or probation that can often ensnare them in the system for years.
When a medical professional is an alleged danger to the public safety, the Virginia Department of Health Professionals handles all facets of the inquiry, including the investigation and penalties. And sometimes, even when a medical professional is found liable of doing harm to patients, they may face a reprimand, pay a fine and continue to practice, without missing a day of work and with little chance for the public to see what they’ve done.
The Health Safety stories in this series tell the facts of cases where medical professionals endanger our public health safety. They also bring you into the world of the medical board’s consent orders and public final orders, so you can see exactly how the VDHP’s self-policing system works.
Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It’s welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com .
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia psychologist surrenders license after years of fighting with patient
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