Mental health professionals sanctioned by licensing board

The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals has sanctioned two central Iowa practitioners for alleged misconduct.

Bailey Luellen, 40, an Iowa-licensed, masters-level social worker since October 2024, was recently charged by the board with one count of failing to maintain sufficient, timely, and accurate documentation in client records, plus one count of deliberately falsifying client records.

According to the board, Luellen worked as an inpatient program therapist at Clive Behavioral Health in 2024 and 2025. The board alleges that at some point in 2025, suspicions arose that Luellen had documented nonexistent assessment meetings with patients — including sessions for suicide risk assessments, treatment planning and reviews of treatment plans.

Later, an internal audit at Clive Behavioral Health further raised questions as to whether Luellen’s documented patient assessments had been completed as she claimed, the board alleges.

According to the board, one patient for whom Luellen had documented as receiving a suicide-risk assessment died by suicide within 30 days of their discharge from the program.

As part of a settlement agreement with the board, Luellen recently agreed to be cited for the two counts, and agreed to repeat the completion of supervised, clinical experience work hours for licensing.  She also agreed to have her social worker’s license placed on probation for 24 months, during which time she will work as a practice monitor.

As part of the settlement, Luellen has also agreed to complete 18 hours of educational training on the topics of privacy and confidentiality, documentation and suicide risk prevention.

Ames counselor sanctioned

Separately, in an unrelated case, the board recently sanctioned another issued mental health professional, Safaa Elnour, who has been an Iowa-licensed mental health counselor since January 2024.

According to the board, Elnour was practicing in Ames in late 2025 when she “engaged in various behaviors, including terminating services with a client without providing advanced notice, transition planning, referrals or supervisory consultation; failing to contact emergency services when presented with an active self-harm client; and billing a client’s insurance for a session that did not occur.”

The board charged Elnour with a single count of deviating from the standards of learning or skill ordinarily possessed by other licensees.

In settling the case, Elnour agreed to have her license placed on probation for 12 months during which she will be required to work with a practice monitor.  She also agreed to complete 12 hours of educational training on crisis management and ethical boundaries.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Luellen and Elnour for comment.