By ANGELINA BERUBEEagle Tribune

For the second time in as many months, the owner of the Atkinson Diaper Spa faced state regulators and defended herself against claims that she unlawfully operated the business without the required medical licenses or certification.

Colleen Ann Murphy of Atkinson testified before the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practices on Friday in the second of three state disciplinary hearings.

She argued the business was never intended to offer mental health services but rather holistic and therapeutic approaches for the community of Adult Baby Diaper Lovers, ABDL, to freely express themselves in a judgment-free space.

The hearing took place at the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure in Concord.

The Diaper Spa, which she ran out of her Atkinson home at 23 Pope Road, catered to adults aged 21 and older, serving “all diaper-wearing individuals who seek acceptance, respite, and care” in a nursery-like atmosphere.

Public concern over the nature of the business arose in late January. The Atkinson Zoning Board of Adjustment denied The Diaper Spa a home business permit on Feb. 14 after its owner admitted operating from November until to Dec. 24, without a town or state business permit.

Murphy could face a $10,000 fine if the board finds she violated the New Hampshire statutes that apply.

The board has 30 days to make a decision.

Murphy said she provided access to a space for “nursery rental” for the ABDL community to seek out being childlike, and indulge in “fantasy realm” to act as their chronological age, not looking to cure ABDL.

When asked about diagnosing or attempting to modify any maladaptive or undesirable behaviors associated with ABDL, she said she encouraged the behaviors without judgment.

“It was more of a space than a service,” Murphy said. “It’s a very large space so people can feel small if they wished to.”

Her role was to act as a maternal caregiver to the clients in the nursery, “providing oversight in a parental type of way” by reaching for items on a top shelf, comforting them and making them lunch and snacks.

In regard to mental health, her understanding was that a licensed mental health professional has boundaries of touch, limiting them to talk therapy with patients. Murphy used experiential methods involving safe touch, which falls under coaching, she said.

She stated her website did not mention services or any treatments in relation to mental health, but only referenced a holistic way to support people.

She said she acted in a coaching manner and didn’t try to solve any complex problems or treat disorders of the people who came to her house for the oversized nursery. When asked about life-coaching certification, Murphy stated she does not have certification, but took courses.

Murphy would refer clients seeking help with their mental health to licensed colleagues. Some clients came to her as referrals from mental health professionals who saw her services as beneficial to their patients, she said.

Her intent was never to offer services to New Hampshire residents, but rather advertise luxury services which would appeal to people in the Boston area with a disposable income.

New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification Attorney Collin Phillips said Murphy still saw clients in her Atkinson home.

Phillips further argued Murphy listed numerous treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy on the website, which falls under mental health practices, and those need certification to perform.

He said there was an “intent clear in providing mental health service.”

Defense attorney Lawrence Katz said Murphy didn’t violate any New Hampshire laws because she never called herself a mental health professional or engaged in practices with the purpose of changing maladaptive behaviors.

Murphy was asked if she consulted with the therapists of any of the clients to see if they were being treated for a paraphilic disorder before seeing them.

A total of eight “paraphilias” are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the guide book of the American Psychiatric Association.

They include pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, sexual sadism, sexual masochism, fetishism, and transvestic fetishism.

“That’s not my role,” Murphy said. “My role would be to take people at their value if they wanted to rent a nursery space”

Board members questioned mixed messages Murphy has sent in testimony regarding what has appeared on her website. One member questioned hypnotic regression therapy and trauma-based services, which she originally listed on an early version of The Diaper Spa’s website

She responded that she wanted to expand her practices eventually and subcontract out the services alluded to. The website, Murphy said, was a vision of what she wanted her business to become.

The Board of Psychologists hearing, the third in the series, will take place at 9 a.m., on May 3 at the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, 7 Eagle Square, Concord.