Counselor Adolphus H. “Dick” Pelley Loses License for Sexual Harrassment

A licensed mental health counselor, Adolphus H. Pelley, has been stripped of his professional credentials and fined after sexually inappropriate conduct toward a female client exposed severe ethical lapses within his counseling practice.

The Tennessee Department of Health Board of Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical Pastoral Therapists revoked Pelleys license on October 6, 2023 after a woman reported that in sessions in August 2021 he made explicit and degrading remarks, including urging her to perform sexualized acts and referring to her as a “hot piece of ass” while pressuring her to exhibit her body.

[Pelley told her] to stand in front of a mirror, grab her breasts and shake them

The complaint detailed that Pelley allegedly pointed to intimate parts of the client’s body and admonished her life choices, interweaving religious judgments about church attendance and disparaging her employment.

[Pelley pointed] to her vagina, telling her not to sleep around [and went] on a rant when he asked if she went to church and she admitted that she did not

Such conduct not only contravenes professional codes but underscores how those entrusted with care can exploit diagnostics and therapeutic interaction to demean and manipulate. Pelley was terminated from Heal and Hope Counseling Services immediately following the client’s complaint, and the disciplinary board imposed a two thousand dollar fine alongside revocation, signaling a rare enforcement action but raising questions about systemic safeguards in mental health licensure processes.

This case exposes broader concerns about accountability in psychiatric and counseling institutions. When practitioners violate basic standards of human dignity and safety, it erodes public trust and reveals a profession that too often protects its own rather than the individuals subjected to its authority. Stronger mechanisms are needed to prevent exploitation endemic to clinical settings.

Read the board order (pdf)