Introduction

In the partner program to this one, Ethics VII, "Sexual Misconduct," we explored the psychological and psychodynamic underpinnings of therapists who commit these severe boundary violations.  Now in this program, we will take a look at the repercussions.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Gain an understanding from a person who committed boundary violations of how one can, under the right—or wrong circumstances—make devastating errors.

2. Understand the difference between ethical issues, legal concerns, and boundary violations.

3. Become aware of how ethics and licensing panels work.

4. Be able to recognize categories of offenders and varying approaches to their rehabilitation.

CURRICULUM SUMMARIES

Interview #1:   Ms. X Confesses

We will hear first from a mental health professional who married her patient, following a long series of boundary violations. Imagine that in one year, you have lost everything in your life: your marriage ends in divorce, your children leave the nest, you have declared bankruptcy, your work situation ends, your closest colleague rejects you, and a sibling and a parent die. But you keep trying to work and to hold on to some of the aspects of yourself which make you You.

Isn’t it possible that under stress like this, without support, that you could be vulnerable? That you could make some pretty big mistakes?

Let’s hear for ourselves and consider.

Interview #2:    The inner workings of ethics and licensing
Sandra Nye, JD
Joel Primes, JD
Frederic Reamer, Ph.D

This next interview is actually a panel discussion comprised of a defense attorney who defends therapists before licensing board hearings, a former prosecuting attorney who brought these cases to the licensing board of his state, and a social worker who has chaired ethics hearings for his state professional association. They will share with us how these hearings proceed and what they think about during these hearings.

Interview #3: Rehabilitation
Gary Schoener, M.Eq, (Psy.D.- hon)

There is a tendency to want to distance ourselves from the "bad apples" who have sexual contact with clients, and to view them as the most marginal members of the profession. But unilaterally separating out those who have had a romantic or sexual involvement with a client as uniquely dangerous, untreatable, and never worthy of return to the field flies in the face of the history of our own professions.

It bears repeating that the ramifications to a therapist accused of sexual misconduct with a patient range from the catastrophic to the cataclysmic.

But there is an additional option. Since the beginning of the fields of psychotherapy and counseling, counselors and therapists have been treating colleagues for problems that could impact on their work with clients. And now various rehabilitation options have been developed and are sometimes offered to offenders, not instead of punishment but in addition.

While there are a number of differences in rehabilitation models, each involves an assessment. Each model recognizes that some offenders lie or minimize, that some offenders cannot be rehabilitated, and each presumes that public safety is the main issue. The research is inconclusive as to the success of rehabilitation, but we owe it to ourselves and our professions to learn as much as we can