This Couldn't Happen to Me: Boundary Problems and Sexual Misconduct in the Psychotherapy Relationship

Norris, Donna M.; Gutheil, Thomas G.; Strasburger, Larry H.

doi:10.1176/foc.5.4.foc476

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The adjusted rate ratio for sexual relationship notifications was highest for practitioners aged 46–55 years. The effects of ageing, career disappointments, and marital conflicts have been identified as common stress factors among psychotherapists who have violated professional boundaries …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual misconduct by health professionals in Australia, 2011–2016: a retrospective analysis of notifications to health regulators

Bismark

Studdert

Morton³

et al. 2020

Medical Journal of Australia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives To assess the numbers of notifications to health regulators alleging sexual misconduct by registered health practitioners in Australia, by health care profession. Design, setting Retrospective cohort study; analysis of Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and NSW Health Professional Councils Authority data on notifications of sexual misconduct during 2011–2016. Participants All registered practitioners in 15 health professions. Main outcome measures Notification rates (per 10 000 practitioner‐years) and adjusted rate ratios (aRRs) by age, sex, profession, medical specialty, and practice location. Results Regulators received 1507 sexual misconduct notifications for 1167 of 724 649 registered health practitioners (0.2%), including 208 practitioners (18%) who were the subjects of more than one report during 2011–2016; 381 notifications (25%) alleged sexual relationships, 1126 (75%) sexual harassment or assault. Notifications regarding sexual relationships were more frequent for psychiatrists (15.2 notifications per 10 000 practitioner‐years), psychologists (5.0 per 10 000 practitioner‐years), and general practitioners (6.4 per 10 000 practitioner‐years); the rate was higher for regional/rural than metropolitan practitioners (aRR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.31–2.30). Notifications of sexual harassment or assault more frequently named male than female practitioners (aRR, 37.1; 95% CI, 26.7–51.5). A larger proportion of notifications of sexual misconduct than of other forms of misconduct led to regulatory sanctions (242 of 709 closed cases [34%] v 5727 of 23 855 [24%]). Conclusions While notifications alleging sexual misconduct by health practitioners are rare, such misconduct has serious consequences for patients, practitioners, and the community. Further efforts are needed to prevent sexual misconduct in health care and to ensure thorough investigation of alleged misconduct.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual misconduct by health professionals in Australia, 2011–2016: a retrospective analysis of notifications to health regulators

Bismark

Studdert

Morton³

et al. 2020

Medical Journal of Australia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently, however, studies have been published on the role of opportunities and sexual abuse (Wortley & Smallbone, 2006b), sexual harassment in sports (Cense & Brackenridge, 2001;Nielsen, 2001), boundary violations in therapeutic relationships (Gabbard, 1996;Norris, Gutheil, & Strasburger, 2003;Simon, 1999), sexual abuse of students by professors (Bartell & Rubin, 1990), sexual abuse in foster/residential child care (Browne & Lynch, 1999;Gallagher, 1999;Hobbs & Hobbs, 1999;Lindsay, 1999), sexual abuse within youth-serving organizations (Saul & Audage, 2007), and sexual abuse of youth by priests (Terry & Ackerman, 2008).…”

Section: Situational Studies Of Sexual Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Priests from a Situational Perspective

Terry

Freilich

2012

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most sexual offense research focuses on offender motivation and individual risk factors rather than the criminal events themselves. This article provides an analysis of data from two studies on child sexual abuse by Catholic priests to help understand the opportunities clergy had or created to abuse youth. Findings show that situational factors played a role in victim choice among a heterogeneous group of abusers. Priests abused more male than female victims and had significantly greater access to male youth historically. When access to female youth increased in the 1990s, abuse of females as a percentage of victims also increased. The article concludes with a discussion about how ecological information can be used to craft intervention policies to prevent sexual offenses.

show abstract

“…Sexual misconduct can also be conceptualized within the framework of poor boundaries. Distinctions have been made between boundary violations and boundary crossings (Norris et al 2003), ''A boundary is the edge of appropriate professional behavior, a structure influenced by therapeutic ideology, contract, consent, and, most of all, context''. Boundary violations differ from boundary crossings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Family of Origin in Physicians Referred to a CME Course

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Few studies exist which look at psychological factors associated with physician sexual misconduct. In this study, we explore family dysfunction as a possible risk factor associated with physician sexual misconduct. Six hundred thirteen physicians referred to a continuing medical education (CME) course for sexual misconduct were administered the FACES-II survey, a validated and reliable measure of family dynamics. The survey was part of a self-learning activity. We collected data from February 2000 to February 2009. Participants were predominantly white, middle-aged males who represented the full range of medical specialties. Their results were compared against a sample of 177 physicians. The FACES-II is a self-report test that measures family of origin (the family in which one was raised) dynamics on two dimensions (1) flexibility, ranging from too flexible (chaotic) to not flexible enough (rigid) and (2) cohesion ranging from too close (enmeshed) to not close enough (disengaged). The most common family pattern observed among physicians accused of sexual misconduct was rigid flexibility paired with disengaged cohesion, indicative of unhealthy family functioning. This pattern was significantly different than the pattern observed in the comparison group. Physicians who engage in sexual misconduct are more likely to have family of origin dysfunction. Ethics is developmental and learned in one's family of origin. Family of origin dynamics may be one risk factor predisposing one to ethical violations. These findings have important implications for screening, education, and treatment across the medical education continuum.

show abstract

This Couldn't Happen to Me: Boundary Problems and Sexual Misconduct in the Psychotherapy Relationship

Cited by 11 publications

References 14 publications

Sexual misconduct by health professionals in Australia, 2011–2016: a retrospective analysis of notifications to health regulators

Sexual misconduct by health professionals in Australia, 2011–2016: a retrospective analysis of notifications to health regulators

Understanding Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Priests from a Situational Perspective

The Role of Family of Origin in Physicians Referred to a CME Course

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About