American Journal of Psychotherapy · 1996 · 125 citations · 0 references
EducationCounselingPsychologyCounseling PsychologyEthical Issues In CounselingPsychotherapyBoundary SettingBoundary ViolationsCounseling EthicsProfessional BoundariesPsychotherapy EthicsSexual BoundariesBoundaries In Counseling PracticeBoundaries In Sexual RelationshipsBoundary Violation PreventionSexual CounselingSocial Boundary ViolationsSupervisory Boundary ViolationsSupportive RelationshipSupportive Responses
Ethics training must address transference, countertransference, and supervisory roles because technique and ethical principles are intertwined. The study aims to derive lessons from detailed examinations of therapists’ sexual boundary violations. Lessons include distinguishing conscious from unconscious intent, recognizing that love can mask aggression, avoiding confusion between supportive and boundaryless therapy, and prioritizing disclosure of hidden thoughts to supervisors. The evaluation of therapists who committed sexual misconduct shows that everyone is vulnerable to such violations and highlights prevention implications.
The study of sexual boundary violations, through the actual evaluation and treatment of therapists who have engaged in sexual misconduct, reveals that all of us are potentially vulnerable to violations of this nature. A number of lessons can be learned from the detailed examination of these cases. These lessons include the following: (1) There is a difference between the conscious and unconscious intent of the therapist. (2) "Love" in the therapeutic setting is fraught with problems, including the fact that it is often used as a defense against the therapist's own aggression. (3) Supportive therapy and boundaryless therapy often become confused when a therapist switches from an expressive to a supportive approach. (4) The thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that a therapist would most like to keep secret from a supervisor or consultant are the most important issues to discuss with that supervisor or consultant. These observations have a number of implications for prevention. Matters of technique are inevitably conflated with issues of ethical principles so that the teaching of ethics must include discussions of transference, countertransference, and the use of third parties, such as supervisors or consultants, to assist the therapist in the monitoring of professional boundaries.