Former patients' (n = 24) accounts of their experience during a sexual liaison with their psychotherapist (Therapist-Client Sex, TCS) could be classified as ei ther romantic (TCS-Romance) or as an abusive encounter (TCS-Abuse). During TCS, individuals in the TCS-Romance group reported having experienced overall better emotional states and more favorable perceptions of both the perpetrating therapists and the treatments they provided. Pre-TCS assessments showed that initially TCS-Romance subjects may have had a relatively higher regad for their perpetrators and the quality of their treatments than TCS-Abuse subjects, but these between-group differences disappeared when the same variables were assessed for two post-TCS periods. These periods were marked in both groups by deteriorated indices of psychological well-being. These findings suggest that a romantic narrative of TCS could have a shielding, albeit temporary, impact on the subjective experience of what is otherwise considered an abusive relationship.
Bemsen, A., Tabachnick, B.G., & Pope, K.S. (1993). National Survey of social workers' sexual attraction to their clients: Results, implications, and comparison to psychologists. Ethics and Behavior, 4(4), 369-388.
2.
Boland, R.J. ( 1991 ). Information system use as a Hermeneutic process . In H.-E. Nissen, H. K. Klein, & R. A. Hirschheim (Eds.), Information systems research: Contemporary approaches and emergent traditions (pp. 439-464). Amsterdam: NorthHolland.
3.
Butler, S., & Zelen, S.L. (1977). Sexual intimacies between therapists and patients . Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 14(2), 139-145.
4.
Chesler, P. ( 1972). Women and madness. New York : Avon Books.
5.
Ditch, E., & Avery, N. (2001). Sex in the consulting room, the examining room, and the sacristy: Survivors of sexual abuse by professionals. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71 (2), 204-217.
6.
Feldman-Summers, S., & Jones, G. (1984). Psychological impacts of sexual contact between therapists or other health care practitioners and their clients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52(6), 1054-1061.
7.
Freud, S. (1958). On beginning the treatment: Further recommendations on the technique of psychoanalysis. In J. Strachey (Ed. and Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 12, pp. 123-144). London: Hogarth. (Original work published 1913).
8.
Gartrell, N., Herman, J., Olarte, S., Feldstein, M., & Localio, R. (1986). Psychiatrist-patient sexual contact: Results of a national survey, 1: Prevalence. American Journal of Psychiatry , 143, 1126-1131.
9.
Gottschalk, L.A. (1995). Content analysis of verbal behavior: New findings and clinical applications. Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.
10.
Holroyd, J.C., & Brodsky, A.M. (1977). Psychologists' attitudes and practices regarding erotic and nonerotic physical contact with patients. American Psychologist, 32, 843-849.
11.
Kaplan, B., & Maxwell, J.A. (1994). Qualitative research methods for evaluating computer information systems. In J. G. Anderson, C. E. Aydin, & S. J. Jay (Eds.), Evaluating health care information systems: Methods and applications (pp. 45—68). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
12.
Krippendorf, K. (1980). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
13.
Lee, A.S. ( 1991). Integrating positivist and interpretive approaches to organizational research. Organization Science, 2, 342-365.
14.
Loseke, D.R. (2003). "We hold these truths to be self-evident": Problems in pondering the pedophile priest problem. Sexualities, 6(1), 6-14.
15.
Marmor, J. (1972). Sexual acting-out in psychotherapy. American Journal ofPsychoanalysis, 32, 3-8.
16.
Mingers, J. (2001). Combining IS research methods: Towards a pluralist methodology. Information Systems Research, 12(3), 240-259.
17.
Pierce, C.A., & Aguinis, H. (2001). A framework for investigating the link between workplace romance and sexual harassment. Group and Organization Management, 26(2), 206-229.
18.
Pierce, C.A., Aguinis, H., & Adams, S.K.R. (2000). Effects of a dissolved workplace romance and rater characteristics on responses to a sexual harassment accusation. Academy of Management Journal, 43(5), 869-880.
19.
Pope, K. ( 1994). Sexual involvement with therapists: Patient assessment, subsequent therapy, forensics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
20.
Pope, K.S. (2000). Therapists' sexual feelings and behaviors: Research, trends, and quandaries. In L. Szuchman & F. Muscarella (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on human sexuality (pp. 603-658). New York: Wiley.
21.
Pope, K.S., & Bouhoutsos, J.C. (1986). Sexual intimacy between therapists and patients. New York: Praeger.
22.
Pope, K.S., Tabachnick, B.G., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (1987). Ethics of practice: The beliefs and behaviors of psychologists as therapists. American Psychologist, 42, 993-1006.
23.
Powell, G.N. (2001). Workplace romances between senior-level executives and lower-level employees: An issue of work disruption and gender. Human Relations, 54(11), 1519-1544.
24.
Robertiello, R. (1975). latrogenic psychiatric illness. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 7, 3-8.
25.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press .
26.
Safran, J.D., & Muran, J.C. (2003). Negotiating the therapeutic alliance: A relational treatment guide. New York: Guilford .
27.
Salter, A. (2003). Predators: Pedophiles, rapists and other sex offenders. Who they are, how they operate and how we can protect ourselves and our children . New York: Basic Books.
28.
Serban, G. (1981). Sexual activity in therapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 35, 76-85.
29.
Somer, E. (1999). Dual relationships: Seduction and sexual exploitation in counseling and psychotherapy. Tel Aviv: Papyrus - Tel Aviv University Press. (in Hebrew)
30.
Somer, E., & Saadon, M. (1999). Therapist-client sex: Clients' retrospective reports . Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30(5), 504-509.
31.
Somer, E., & Szwarcberg, S. (2001). Variables in delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 71 (3), 332-341.
