"Therapist-patient sex syndrome": the perils of nomenclature for the forensic psychiatrist.
The escalating problem of sexual misconduct has heightened clinicians' awareness of the consequences of therapist-patient sexual relations. One consciousness-raising device, the definition of "therapist-patient sex syndrome," may pose more problems than remedies in the forensic, rather than clinical context. The author reviews the conceptual, diagnostic, and teleological dimensions of this addition to diagnostic nomenclature.
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Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115.
D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013577:Syndrome; D009626:Terminology as Topic