Therapist jailed for sex with client

I just wanted to say how important it is to identify and call out the clear pattern here about therapist abuse and a tendency to minimalize and or blame and shame the victim. This has happened frequently on posts about therapist abuse.

I would like to ask those who challenge these stories, what compels you to do so? I am actually FASCINATED by this and if you are honest with yourselves, perhaps we can find a way to better approach these issues without having such a negative reaction from some people.

I FULLY believe this story because I know it happens. Why would I ever doubt something with so much specific detail? Mainstream media cannot cover every story including cases like these, because there are potential legal ramifications and a whole slew of ethical violations if something is reported that is untrue. Same goes for independent news organizations; they would be FOOLISH to publish stories that are not based on reality, especially with names and dates and details like the ones included in this story. Doing so could lead to lawsuits against news organizations for defamation and libel and could potentially ruin the journalist's career.

While there is argument in newspapers utilizing sensationalism as a means of drawing attention - the stories themselves are mostly fact. Censorship of information by editors is a product of reality, in that there are potential risks in publishing topics that could destroy a papers credibility and or create legal concern.

Thanks,
HD7970ghz

How do you define "most" if not by describing something as "well over half"? The argument is not that women do not cause harm to others, but it is a statistical reality that men pose more of a risk (and especially a sexual risk) to men and women.

I wasn't saying you were saying that. I felt it was important to make an additional note in case some people get the wrong idea.

Several people seem to have misunderstood my postings. I believe the victim and I do not doubt that practitioners abuse patients, I have personal experience of this. However, the news article is not credible (regardless of the fact that the abuse did take place) and I don't think we can use trashy journalism as a basis for meaningful discussion. This is a fundamental component of critical thinking and I am genuinely surprised that people readily accept lazy journalism.

Who is minimising the impact of this kind of abuse? I can't see evidence of that in this thread.

Yeah, I suppose I get your point. In context it seemed strange to discuss that men were more frequent perpetrators when this article centered around a female perpetrator. It felt out of place, but I get what you're saying

I'm not minimizing it at all if you are referring to me. most people here know I was sexually abused and exploited by my therapist. I would never imply that it isn't a big deal.

you guys are trying to take what I said and make it seem like I'm being callous and flippant about this

which is NOT TRUE

and it is upsetting me

seriously I'm legit mad right now that they've suggested that I'm minimizing it, I don't even know why ppl are thinking that!!! you all put words in my mouth!!!

Junk

I think it was just a misunderstanding in the wording. I also don't see most people thinking you are. Misunderstandings happen, especially with text only type situations.

I was not referring to you at all, mostly to Jessica11 and SorryOozit's posts. Maybe I misunderstood. In any case, I don't really have a personal interest in this topic so will not get into any further defensive arguments, they also don't add anything to the topic.

I also think it is likely that people have wrongly assumed that I am minimising the abuse since I have questioned the validity of a Fox news channel - people might not even have been referencing you, junkDNA. I would welcome some clarification from Xynesthesia about their comment as it is insensitive (at best) to accuse someone of minimising the kind of abuse which they have experienced.

When I read it, I just felt that scrutinizing the source was kinda deflecting and irrelevant in the context of what the OP brought up, what actually happened in this case. I did not know that you also experienced this, indeed it would not make sense to argue against its seriousness in that case. I am definitely not a supporter of sloppy and reality distorting journalism and tend to be very skeptical myself, but this case seems legit as there are many articles about it on the web, not just from one source.

Seems like this topic generates strong feelings in a number of us, not just the client who was involved with his therapist.

By definition, isn't over "well over half" most? Just sayin'. I understand you point however.

I can add to this that cases where women are perpetrators of sexual abuse are massively under reported so we don't really know the real situation and if the number of female perpetrators is indeed so drastically different. We simply don't have all the data at this point.

It's well known that men are much more reluctant to report sexual abuse because of the horrible cultural double standard we have about this. It is somehow considered that only a woman can be emotionally damaged as a result of that experience. But if a young man gets sexually abused by an older woman than he is supposed to feel "lucky". If he or his family report it, he gets mocked and shamed by other men mostly, and doesn't often get much compassion from women survivors because many of them, unfortunately, feel indiscriminate hatred towards all men as a result of their own abuse. No wonder why men report their abuse much less often than women do, especially when the perpetrator is a woman. Now, taking into account that even most women still don't report their abuse, the official statistical number of male survivors might not even remotely be close to what it actually is.

Just wanted to point out that statistical data, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily reflect the reality if taken outside of the social and cultural discourses. The phenomena of sexual abuse in reality may exist on such a massive scale that our collective consciousness may not be ready to accept it. It penetrates every social group, every economic class, every industry, our entire social fabric. That's why no one has the real desire to look into it, including the survivors. If we truly attempt to understand it, it'll be disturbing for everyone because it'll challenge every single narrative constructed around it.

Sorry, I didn't want to hijack the thread. I just wanted to challenge the existing stereotype that sexual exploitation mostly comes from males. I am not going to participate in the debate about it here because the thread is about a different topic. So, I digress.

I think this is a great point.

A lot of deflection about the authenticity of the article when the basic facts are still all true regardless

this thread should just be locked

These headline-grabbing stories just distract attention from the more mundane abuses and exploitations being inflicted every day by run-of-the-mill "good" therapists who play by the rules. That's the true dark heart of the profession.

I hope this thread gets back on track rather than shut down.* This is an important topic, and I think the discussion is a positive addition to the forum.

It's often said that the client is mentally ill, but that the therapist abused power or had poor judgment. This premise contributes to this problem rather than helps. It's time we point out the mental health of the therapists who abuse rather than citing it as a mistake or poor judgment.

It's not a matter of a 'mentally ill' client and 'bad decision' therapist. This contributes to sweeping the systematic issues under the rug. I understand it's complex, but it's offensive to always paint the client as the mentally unhealthy one.

*Not a good idea to shut down therapy abuse threads when conflict arises. That is a slippery slope that can lead to shutting down all threads that speak of therapy abuse.