Fines are still piling up for New Hampshire 'Diaper Spa'

By Abby Patkin

Months after her Diaper Spa incensed New Hampshire neighbors, the woman behind the unconventional business has continued to rack up fines for allegedly advertising mental health services while lacking proper licensure.

Dr. Colleen Ann Murphy is licensed to practice medicine in New York and Maine, but not in New Hampshire, where she ran The Diaper Spa out of her home in Atkinson. That lack of local licensure has cost her $17,500 in state fines.

Now fully remote, The Diaper Spa caters to adults who wear diapers and role play as children, also known as the adult baby/diaper lovers (ABDL) community. The spa once offered services that ranged from $200-an-hour virtual playdates to $1,500 all-day “Diaper B&B” pampering.

In February, Atkinson officials denied Murphy’s home business permit after neighbors raised concerns about the spa’s local impact. Speaking during the Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing, Murphy rejected claims the spa could attract people who harbor pedophilic fantasies.

“In general and specifically, the people who are seeking this type of immersion experience are people who want to pretend to be children, not who are interested in children,” she said at the time. “There is no association with pedophilia.”

Then came the fines; in April, New Hampshire’s Board of Medicine slapped Murphy with a $10,000 penalty for allegedly marketing the business as “physician-run.”

The latest fines came earlier this month, when the state’s Board of Mental Health Practice found that Murphy advertised herself as providing mental health services, despite not holding local licensure. The Board of Psychologists made similar findings, noting The Diaper Spa’s website boasted of a “fully immersive experience with all the benefits of exclusive experiential services such as Hypnoregression, [dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy], Yoga, and Massage.”

According to the Board of Psychologists, Murphy told officials she saw three clients during the time The Diaper Spa was operational between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve of 2023. She also reportedly said she “never diagnosed, reviewed medical records, developed treatment plans, prescribed medication, or offered therapies to any client, in any capacity,” but instead focused primarily on “coaching.”

The Board of Mental Health Practice and the Board of Psychologists ordered Murphy to pay fines of $2,500 and $5,000, respectively. Boston.com has reached out to Murphy for comment.

These days, The Diaper Spa’s website features a disclaimer: “No part of this website is offered as nor intended to be medical advice or medical recommendations. This website is neither expressly nor implicitly providing medical care or a substitute for such care.” The spa also does not currently offer services to New Hampshire residents.

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Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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