South Dakota Behavioral health Complaint Route

Authority and scope

Check the license and concern

The Board of Examiners of Psychologists, Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, Board of Social Work Examiners, and Board of Addiction and Prevention Professionals have separate complaint packets. The Social Work Board also has the applied behavior analyst route. Match the clinician’s license or certification; a generic therapist title is insufficient.

Supporting guidance: Psychology complaints ↗Counselor/MFT complaints ↗Social Work complaints ↗Addiction/Prevention complaints ↗Applied Behavior Analyst committee ↗

Match the route to the credential

Use the license listed in the practitioner's records or official license lookup. A psychiatrist is a physician; psychiatric nurses have nursing credentials. Some psychologists have prescribing authority, so medication alone does not identify the licensing board.

Choose the right licensing authority

Psychologists

Board of Examiners of Psychologists; its own signed complaint.

Open this official route ↗

Professional counselors and marriage/family therapists

Counselors/MFT Board; complaint plus its records authorization.

Open this official route ↗

Social workers and behavior analysts

Social Work Board; use its complaint instructions.

Open this official route ↗

Addiction and prevention professionals

Addiction/Prevention Board; distinct complaint and records release.

Open this official route ↗

Submission

How the official source says to file

Use the complaint page for the correct board and its own packet. Prepare the clinician’s identity, incident dates, factual chronology, witnesses and relevant supporting documents. Follow the packet’s current mailing instructions; do not substitute another board’s address.
Psychology and Social Work forms require a signed factual statement and agreement to testify voluntarily. They ask which statutes, rules or ethical provisions you believe were violated; describe the conduct clearly if uncertain.
Counselors/MFT and Addiction/Prevention packets include separate signed records authorizations, including a parent or guardian signature for a minor. Counseling’s release covers all mental-health records; Addiction’s covers health records, including clinical notes and billing. Read these releases before signing.

Supporting guidance: Psychology complaint form ↗Counseling complaint and release packet ↗Social Work complaint form ↗Addiction complaint and release packet ↗

Limits

What this route may not provide

These are professional-conduct proceedings. Refund or compensation powers were not established by this check; ask the relevant board about the remedy sought. Confirm a separate authority for a treatment facility or program. Psychiatrists and psychiatric advanced-practice nurses belong in the medical and nursing guides.

Anonymity

Do not guess about confidentiality

All four routes disclose the complaint to the professional. Psychology and Social Work warn that supporting information may be disclosed and a contested case can become public. Counseling and Addiction describe confidential investigations, but their signed complaint waivers relinquish confidentiality/privilege for information needed to investigate. Their releases permit further disclosures to investigators and other authorities; refusing a release may prevent review.

Supporting guidance: Psychology complaints ↗Social Work complaints ↗Counselor/MFT complaints ↗Addiction/Prevention complaints ↗Counseling complaint and release packet ↗Addiction complaint and release packet ↗

Complaint timing

Ask promptly; 20 days refers to the professional’s response

A filing deadline was not established for these boards. Their complaint pages describe a 20-day response opportunity for the licensee, not a deadline measured from your treatment. Completion time depends on investigation and board proceedings.

Supporting guidance: Psychology complaints ↗Counselor/MFT complaints ↗Social Work complaints ↗Addiction/Prevention complaints ↗

Process

What may happen after filing

The applicable board reviews the complaint and response, may obtain more information, and decides whether to dismiss or pursue informal or formal action. The Psychology and Social Work pages describe an investigative committee and written final notice.

Supporting guidance: Psychology complaints ↗Counselor/MFT complaints ↗Social Work complaints ↗Addiction/Prevention complaints ↗

Evidence

Prepare a reviewable submission

State the concern you want reviewed, give a short chronology and factual consequences, and explain your request. Keep supporting records and follow the receiving authority’s instructions before attaching or sending them.