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Christian counselor Frank Canepa has won a legal battle after being fined nearly $90,000 for refusing to affirm a client’s same-sex relationship.

Canepa is a licensed professional counselor who helps his clients achieve their stated goals. As a Roman Catholic, he provides counseling consistent with his religious beliefs.

For over two and a half years, Canepa counseled a client on a weekly basis at an “extremely reduced” rate, including multiple pro bono sessions.

Over the course of their counseling sessions, the client brought up the topic of same-sex relationships at least 44 times. Canepa never disclosed his personal views on such relationships during those sessions because he sought to “honor her personal life choices and direction in her own life.”

However, on July 10, 2023, the client again brought up the topic of same-sex relationships and demanded for 20 minutes that Canepa personally bless her same-sex relationship.

At this point, Canepa felt the need to disclose his view in the interest of truth and authenticity. Because of his Catholic faith, Canepa “told her [he] was unable to provide” the “level of personal affirmation for same-sex relationships” she desired “because of [his] Catholic faith.”

Following the session, the client filed a complaint against Canepa with the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists. The Board decided to punish Canepa by fining him $89,636, and ordering him to undergo continuing education, for allegedly violating Oregon law and the American Counseling Association’s (ACA) Code of Ethics.

The Board said Canepa violated ACA Code Rule A.4.b, which requires counselors to “avoid imposing … their own values … especially when the counselor’s values are … discriminatory in nature.”

But Canepa was not discriminating against anyone. He was simply exercising his First Amendment right to speak freely and share his personal view after his client asked him to do so.

The Board imposed the punishment on August 5, 2025, after which Canepa appealed the decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals. He is represented by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

On June 5, 2026, the Board thankfully withdrew its disciplinary action against Canepa without explanation.

“The government can’t target counselors for their views and force people to say things that go against their core convictions,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Litigation Strategy Jonathan Scruggs.

What caused the Board to reconsider its judgement between August 2025 and June 2026?

On March 31, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued Chiles v. Salazar – a landmark opinion protecting the right of Christian counselors to speak freely in conversations with clients.

The Oregon Board cited Chiles in its decision to withdraw the judgement against Canepa.

“The Supreme Court recently took Colorado to task for censoring counselors and mandating orthodoxy in the counselor’s office, and Oregon should take notice,” Scruggs continued. “ADF will continue to ensure that free speech is protected in Oregon — and every state where it’s threatened — and halt states’ attempts to weaponize their licensure systems.”

This case demonstrates how important it is for Christians to be courageous and stand by their convictions in our culture today.

Had Kaley Chiles, the Christian counselor at the center of the Chiles case, decided not to defend her First Amendment right to free speech all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, Canepa would likely still be defending his constitutional rights before the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Thanks to the precedent set by Chiles, Canepa is again free to practice counseling in accordance with his faith.

The case is Canepa v. Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists.

Related articles and resources:

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Oregon School District Pays $650,000 for Firing Teachers Opposed to ‘Trans’ Policy

Supreme Court Smacks Down Colorado’s ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban in 8-1 Decision

The Supreme Court’s ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ruling: Four Truths You Should Know

Court Awards $885,000 in Attorney Fees After Counseling Censorship Victory

Photo from Shutterstock.

Brian Tingley, a Christian counselor in Washington state, is seeking the restoration of his constitutional rights after the recent U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision protecting counselors’ speech, Chiles v. Salazar.

Tingley is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 20 years of experience who counsels adult and minor clients. He engages only in talk therapy: listening to clients, asking questions and helping them pursue behavioral changes according to their desires and goals.

As a Christian, Tingley affirms the Bible’s teachings on relationships, sexuality and marriage.

However, Washington state – prohibiting so-called “conversion therapy” – makes it illegal for Tingley to help minor clients leave unwanted homosexuality or embrace their biological sex. Washington requires him – and all counselors – to speak only in a state-approved way, pushing clients towards homosexuality or “transgenderism.”

This kind of speech code, however, is a clear violation of the First Amendment’s free speech clause.

On March 31, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a momentous decision striking down Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. Colorado’s law is essentially identical to Washington’s.

“While the First Amendment protects many and varied forms of expression, the spoken word is perhaps the quintessential form of protected speech,” Justice Gorsuch wrote for the Court’s majority in Chiles v. Salazar. “And that is exactly the kind of expression in which Ms. Chiles seeks to engage.” So too with Brian Tingley.

Justice Gorsuch added, “The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”

As a result of the Court’s decision in Chiles, Tingley – who had previously challenged Washington’s law in court but lost – is asking a lower court to reconsider his case. He is being represented by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

“Washington’s law bans voluntary conversations based on the state’s ideological crusade to impose gender ideology and to reject common sense,” said ADF Senior Counsel Hal Frampton, director of the Center for Conscience Initiatives. “This is censorship pure and simple, and it violates the First Amendment — as affirmed recently in an 8-1 Supreme Court decision.”

Frampton added,

We are urging the district court to finally allow justice to prevail for Brian, protect his “inalienable right to think and speak freely,” and free him to provide excellent counseling to families and young people who seek his counseling.

Tingley isn’t the only counselor looking for his First Amendment rights to be restored in the wake of Chiles.

In May, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Terri Koschnick and Joy Buchman, licensed counselors who are challenging the Badger State’s law prohibiting counselors from helping minor clients with unwanted same-sex attraction and sexual identity confusion.

Hopefully, counselors nationwide will soon – thanks to Chiles – be free to help all individuals seeking to live according to a biblical sexual ethic. The Daily Citizen will keep you updated on important developments.

The case is Tingley v. Brown.

If you or someone you know is struggling with homosexuality or transgenderism, Focus on the Family offers a one-time complimentary consultation with our ministry’s professionally trained counseling staff. The consultation is free due to generous donor support.

To reach Focus on the Family’s counseling service by phone, call 1-800-A-Family (232-6459) weekdays 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). Please be prepared to leave your contact information for a counselor or chaplain to return a call to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.

We also offer local referrals for licensed counselors who align with the mission and values of Focus on the Family.

Related articles and resources:

The Supreme Court’s ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ruling: Four Truths You Should Know

Supreme Court Smacks Down Colorado’s ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban in 8-1 Decision

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Counseling Censorship Case

Judge Dismisses Therapist’s Lawsuit Over Ban on Counseling for Same-Sex Attraction, Gender Identity

Christian Counselor Sues for Right to Talk to Minors About Same-Sex Attraction, Gender Identity Issues

Is Therapy to Leave Homosexuality Damaging? New Review Says, ‘No Proof of Harm’

Therapy Bans Threaten Religious Freedom, Free Speech and Parental Rights

Why We Support Therapy for Unwanted Homosexuality

Photo from Alliance Defending Freedom.