4,800 psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers were surveyed (return rate = 49%) to examine attitudes and practices regarding dual professional roles, social involvements, financial involvements, and incidental involvements. Half of the Ss rated the degree to which each behavior was ethical; the other half reported how often they engaged in each behavior. A majority believed dual role behaviors to be unethical under most conditions; most reported that they had rarely or never engaged in the behaviors. 10 factors (therapist gender, profession, age, experience, marital status, region of residence, client gender, practice setting, theoretical orientation, and practice locale) were examined for their relation to beliefs and behaviors. A higher proportion of male than of female therapists were perpetrators of sexual and nonsexual dual relationships. The professions did not differ among themselves in terms of (a) sexual intimacies with clients before or after termination, (b) nonsexual dual professional roles, (c) social involvements, or (d) financial involvements with patients. 10 specific training implications are discussed in light of the exploitive and clinically harmful nature of dual relationships.The American Psychological Association (APA) has long recognized the harm and exploitation resulting from dual relationships. The Ethical Principles of Psychologists (APA, 1981) require psychologists to act to avoid impairing their own professional judgment or increasing the risk of exploitation of their clients through dual relationships. "Examples of such dual relationships include, but are not limited to, research with and treatment of employees, students, supervisees, close friends, or relatives. Sexual intimacies with clients are unethical" (Principle 6a; p. 636). However, compliance with this principle has apparently been difficult for many psychologists: Dual relation-DEBRA S. BORYS received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 1988 and is currently in independent practice. She and her coauthor were among the founders of the UCLA Post-Therapy Support Program, which provides treatment for clients previously involved in sexualized therapy relationships, as well as conducts research, training, education, and consultation regarding dual relationships in therapy and their consequences. KENNETH S. POPE, PhD, graduated from Harvard and Yale and is an American Psychological Association (APA) Fellow and Diplomate in Clinical Psychology in independent practice. He has served as Chair of the Ethics Committees of the APA and of the American Board of Professional Psychology, and he is a recipient of the Frances Mosseker Award for Fiction and the Belle Mayer Bromberg Award for Literature.
