Obstacles to the dynamic understanding of therapist-patient sexual relations.
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.
Gutheil
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Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston 02115.
Gabbard
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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