Alliance Defending Freedom has initiated legal action challenging ordinances in Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri that place restrictions on what licensed counselors can discuss with their clients. The lawsuit, filed in February 2025, argues that these local regulations unconstitutionally limit the First Amendment rights of counselors and interfere with client-directed therapy.
Missouri Counselors Seek Protection for Faith-Integrated Practice
The case, Wyatt Bury, LLC v. City of Kansas City, represents two counselors – Wyatt Bury and Pamela Eisenreich – who provide therapy services that integrate their Christian faith when clients request such an approach. Both counselors work with clients on various issues including depression, anxiety, relationship challenges, trauma, grief, and addictions.
According to court documents, the counselors maintain client-directed practices where individuals set their own therapeutic goals. Some clients specifically seek assistance aligning their identity and sexuality with their religious beliefs. The ordinances in question effectively prohibit counselors from having certain conversations even when explicitly requested by clients.
“Children need to be able to talk about their struggles with people who want to help them,” Alliance Defending Freedom stated in materials about the case. The legal organization argues the ordinances “not only violate the First Amendment rights of counselors but also harm children who simply want to become more comfortable with their sex.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has joined the lawsuit as a co-plaintiff, supporting the challenge to protect the freedoms of Missouri residents affected by these local regulations.
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Conflicting Requirements Under Local Ordinances
The Kansas City ordinance, passed in 2019, imposes several requirements on counselors, including mandates to provide relationship counseling to same-sex couples regardless of religious objections if they offer such services to opposite-sex couples. Additionally, the ordinance requires counselors to affirm client-selected gender identities and prohibits the publication of materials explaining religious reasons for limiting certain types of counseling.
Jackson County’s 2023 ordinance specifically prohibits counselors from discussing certain viewpoints regarding sexual orientation and gender identity with minor clients, even when clients themselves request such conversations. The ordinance allows counseling that supports gender transition but prohibits conversations aimed at helping clients become comfortable with their biological sex.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys argue this one-sided approach creates an unconstitutional viewpoint restriction on private conversations between counselors and clients.
The legal complaint filed by Alliance Defending Freedom contends that these ordinances violate several constitutional protections, including free speech rights. The challenge focuses on the fundamental principle that the government should not dictate which topics can be discussed in confidential counseling settings.
Alliance Defending Freedom has represented clients in similar cases across the country, consistently advocating for the position that professional speech should receive First Amendment protection, particularly when it involves matters of conscience and religious conviction.
As the case proceeds through the legal system, it may establish important precedents regarding the balance between local government regulations and the constitutional rights of counseling professionals. The lawsuit marks another significant First Amendment case for Alliance Defending Freedom as the organization continues its legal advocacy for religious liberty and free speech protections.
Both counselors assert they have never imposed their views on unwilling clients, but rather seek to preserve the ability to have open conversations with individuals who specifically request faith-integrated approaches to addressing their personal challenges.