Sexual Involvement with Therapists: Patient Assessment, Subsequent Therapy, Forensics

Research studies suggest that at least 50 percent of all therapists will encounter a least one patient who has been sexually abused by a previous therapist. Providing help in this situation can be complicated by ethical and legal requirements, common assessment errors, and many other factors.

Therapists, attorneys, and educators will find Sexual Involvement With Therapists to be a practical, authoritative guide to research, theory, and intervention for clinical and forensic work in this area. The book addresses such difficult issues as informed consent for the subsequent treatment, suicidal risk, the potential rehabilitation of offenders, professional liability coverage for therapist-patient sexual involvement, and the professional response to the sexual exploitation of patients. Sexual Involvement With Therapists helps practitioners to adequately address the needs of clients who have been sexually abused by prior therapists while providing reliable information about the obstacles and opportunities presented in assessing and treating previously abused patients.

Foreword

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Encountering Patients Who Have Experienced Therapist–Patient Sex
2. Contexts
3. The Subsequent Therapist
4. Working Conditions
5. Consequences and Interventions
6. Forensic Issues

References

Appendixes

1. Research Findings About Therapists' Behaviors and Experiences
2. Sample Informed Consent Form for Forensic Assessment When Therapist–Patient Sex Is at Issue
3. Informed Consent Issues for Providing Therapy to a Patient Who Has Been Sexually Involved With a Prior Therapist
4. Guidelines for Reviewing a Prior Therapist's Treatment Notes and Chart Materials
5. Therapist's Outline for Frequent Review of Treatment and Treatment Plan for a Patient Who Has Been Sexually Involved With a Prior Therapist
6. Review of Hospitalization Issues
7. Therapist's Outline for Review Prior to Deposition and Cross-Examination
8. Cross-Examination Questions for Therapists Who Testify About a Patient's Sexual Involvement With a Therapist

Index

About the Author