title: Obstacles to the dynamic understanding of therapist-patient sexual relations.
abstract: Several dynamic resistances appear to interfere with rational and empirically based discourse about therapist-patient sexual misconduct. These resistances include the lure of reductionism and a longing for simplicity; wishes for "political correctness"; gender bias; and confusion about the nature of the trauma in sexual misconduct. We conclude that (1) empirical study may produce unpleasant results; (2) "politically incorrect" models of misconduct merit study with care equal to "politically correct" ones; and (3) those reenactments we call transference-countertransference should be viewed in all their human complexity. Only then will our increased understanding of misconduct offer hope of prevention.
authors.affiliation: Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston 02115.
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Gutheil
authors.forename: G O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Gabbard
mesh_terms: D004995:Ethics, Professional; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000592:standards*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior