Sexual Exploitation of Clients by Therapists

Schoener, Gary R.; Milgrom, J; Gonsiorek, John C.

doi:10.1300/j015v03n03_09

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…All previous research on the subject shows that most of the victims of sexual abuse in psychotherapy and psychiatry are women and most of the perpetrators are men [3,11,12]. The therapists are on average 10-15 years older than their female victims [3,11,[13][14][15][16]].…”

Section: Introduction 1prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual assaults in therapeutic relationships: prevalence, risk factors and consequences

Eichenberg

Becker-Fischer²,

Fischer³

2010

Health

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A law has been passed in Germany (paragraph 174c StGB), which prohibits therapists from having sexual contact with their patients. This provides the background for a follow-up survey to the previous study completed by Becker- Fischer and Fischer in 1995. The results of this survey are discussed here on the basis of the current status of research concerning preva- lence and risk factors of sexual assaults in therapeutic relationships. The focus of the re- search lies in determining the specific condi- tions of sexual assaults in psychotherapy and psychiatry, risk variables of the therapists and patients, the effects it has on the patients as well as the legal consequences it results in. To en- sure the comparability of the data, an online version of the Questionnaire about Sexual Con- tacts in Psychotherapy and Psychiatry (SKPP; Becker-Fischer, Fischer & Jerouschek) was cre- ated and a survey of N = 77 affected patients was conducted. The majority of the participants in the study reported a serious decline in their overall well being following the incident. How- ever only very few undertook legal steps - only in three cases did it come to a legal procedure. The assumption that sexual contacts in psy- chotherapy result in extremely damaging con- sequences to patients, was affirmed. Despite the changed legal situation, therapists in Ger- many are still not held legally responsible more often than they were 10 years ago. Based on these results a more intensive education of the patients concerning their legal rights is recom- mended

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Section: Introduction 1prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual assaults in therapeutic relationships: prevalence, risk factors and consequences

Eichenberg

Becker-Fischer²,

Fischer³

2010

Health

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“…At the outset it is important to acknowledge that the literature on sexual boundary violations comes mostly from the USA (e.g. Schoener 1989; Pope 1994; Gabbard 2002, 2016; Celenza 2007) and mainly concerns psychotherapy and psychology practice. There has been insufficient research, especially outside the USA, into the different factors and the field is beset by ignorance and defensive attitudes at individual, organisational and societal levels.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sexual boundary violations: victims, perpetrators and risk reduction

Hook

Devereux²

2018

BJPsych advances

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SUMMARYSexual boundary violations by healthcare professionals is a subject that has largely been ignored in the UK. There has been little research into the field. It is rarely taught on professional training courses and practitioners appear to know very little about it. The history of sexual boundary violations is littered with failures to notice, failures to report and inadequate justice for victims and perpetrators alike. Perpetrators are commonly assumed to be predators. Given the many widely reported recent events in our media of both predatory and other sexual offenders, we believe it is timely for all healthcare and other professions working with vulnerable people to take the problem seriously, to provide appropriate services for victims, evaluation and assessment of perpetrators, and sanctions that fit the crime in order to regain public trust.LEARNING OBJECTIVES•Develop greater understanding of the problem of sexual boundary violations by professionals•Be able to manage the care of a patient who has been the victim of a sexual boundary violation•Understand factors in professionals that may lead to a sexual boundary violationDECLARATION OF INTERESTNone.

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“…Die Frage nach den destruktiven Folgen der sexuellen Kon− takte in therapeutischen Beziehungen für männliche Opfer konnte bisher in den zur Verfügung stehenden Stichproben auf− grund sehr geringer Fallzahlen nur unzureichend beantwortet werden. In der themenbezogenen Literatur wird davon ausge− gangen, dass Männer an denselben Folgen des Missbrauchs lei− den wie Frauen, dass es ihnen jedoch aufgrund ihrer Sozialisati− on schwerer fällt, sich als Opfer zu sehen [10,12]. In vielen Fällen von sexuellen Übergriffen durch Professionelle werden weder vonseiten der FolgetherapeutInnen [4] noch von− seiten der PatientInnen [3,6,31] rechtliche Schritte gegen miss− brauchende TherapeutInnen eingeleitet.…”

Section: Risikofaktorenunclassified

“…Unter Berücksichti− gung der besonderen Problematiken bei der Feststellung der Prävalenz von professionalem sexuellem Missbrauch gehen Be− cker−Fischer und Fischer [10] von mindestens 300 betroffenen PatientInnen pro Jahr in Deutschland aus (ohne die von den Kas− sen nicht anerkannten Therapieformen einzubeziehen). Die Tatsache, dass zumeist Frauen die Opfer sexueller Übergriffe in Psychotherapie und Psychiatrie sind und es sich bei den Tä− tern hauptsächlich um Männer handelt, wird von allen Untersu− chungen belegt, die bis dato zum Problemfeld durchgeführt wurden [3,11,12]. Dabei sind die meist männlichen Therapeuten durchschnittlich 10±15 Jahre älter als die weiblichen Betroffe− nen [3,11,13±16].…”

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Sexuelle Übergriffe in therapeutischen Beziehungen: Risikofaktoren, Folgen und rechtliche Schritte

Eichenberg

Dorniak

Fischer

2008

Psychother Psych Med

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About 10 years ago, an initial empirical study was conducted in Germany about this topic. Since then, a penal code, paragraph 174 c StGB, was decreed, prohibiting sexual contact between therapists and their patients. A current follow-up survey was conducted in order to determine whether the results of previous surveys concerning situation conditions and after-effects converge with current results and if so, to what extent. Secondly, the survey was conducted to determine whether or not changes in the way the involved patients and authorities deal with this type of incident are evident. To ensure the comparability of the data, an online version of the Questionnaire about Sexual Contacts in Psychotherapy and Psychiatry (SKPP; Becker-Fischer, Fischer u. Jerouschek) was created and a survey of N = 77 affected patients was conducted. The majority of the participants in the study reported a serious decline in their overall well being following the incident, however, only very few undertook legal steps; only in three cases did it come to a legal procedure. The assumption that sexual contacts in psychotherapy result in extremely damaging consequences to patients, which the first study already revealed, was affirmed in the follow-up examination. Despite the changed legal situation, however, therapists in Germany are still not held legally responsible more often than they were 10 years ago.

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Sexual Exploitation of Clients by Therapists

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

Sexual assaults in therapeutic relationships: prevalence, risk factors and consequences

Sexual assaults in therapeutic relationships: prevalence, risk factors and consequences

Sexual boundary violations: victims, perpetrators and risk reduction

Sexuelle Übergriffe in therapeutischen Beziehungen: Risikofaktoren, Folgen und rechtliche Schritte

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