Information for Victims and Victim Advocates on Sexual Exploitation by
Counselors and Therapists
Sexual or romantic
involvement
between a counselor and a client
is never okay.
Such behavior is considered taboo by all groups in the mental health professions. It
is both unethical and illegal behavior. The consequences are destructive and far
reaching for the client who has become the victim of the counselor.
|
"It's Never
OK"
by the Public Education Work Group
of the
Task Force on Sexual Exploitation by Counselors and Therapists
May 1988
See credits
below for full information. |
 It's really hard to explain how powerful the
therapist seems to the client. He is supposed to be the expert, the trusted person
who knows what is best for you. I wish I hadn't ignored my uneasiness and confusion
when he started touching me. I guess I wanted him to take my pain away and to take
care of me. It turned out that I was taking care of his needs most of the
time. I was someone for him to confide in, to hold, to be flattered by.
It is the purpose of this resource to define sexual exploitation by
counselors, to describe options available to victims of sexual exploitation and to present
methods of choosing counselors who are not exploitative. This resource is geared
toward persons who have been sexually exploited as adults.
It feels good to have
talked about this experience. I don't feel so alone or ashamed anymore. I just
have to keep telling myself that it wasn't my fault, that I've done what I can to resolve
the situation and it is time to get on with my life. I also know that there will be
reminders, flashbacks, and sorrow, but I can handle these feelings.
| Written by: |
Public Education Work Group of the Task Force on
Sexual Exploitation by Counselors and Therapists
Nancy Fride Biele, Chair; Diane Capra; Carolyn Halliday; Molly Hurley;
Nancy Malmon; and several others, including victim/survivors, who choose to
remain anonymous. |
| Published by: |
Copyright © 1988 Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual
Assault. All rights reserved.
This has been reproduced by advocateweb.org with permission from the
Minnesota
Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Some edits were made, with permission, to convert this to
an online HTML document. Also, the scope was expanded or generalized for
sections which focused on Minnesota-specific laws, policies, and agencies.
Minnesota-specific details were removed. This information was originally published
as a handbook entitled: "It's never OK: A Handbook for Victims and Victim Advocates
on Sexual Exploitation by Counselors and Therapists", by The Task Force on Sexual
Exploitation by Counselors and Therapists; Minnesota Program for Victims of Sexual
Assault; Minnesota Department of Corrections; May 1988. Funds for that project
were provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, through the
Victim of Crime Act of 1984. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and
policies of this grantor agency. |
| Acknowledgements: |
The Minnesota Program for Victims of Sexual
Assault extends its thanks and appreciation to the following people who were involved in
the development of this handbook:
To Barbara Sanderson, Task Force Coordinator, and Peggy Specktor, formerly of the
Minnesota Program for Victims of Sexual Assault, for coordinating this project.
To Dan O'Brien, Assistant to the Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Corrections, for
assisting in the preparation of the publication.
To Linda Schintz, former Secretary of Anishinabe Longhouse, Minnesota Department of
Corrections, for the many patient hours she devoted to preparing the handbook for
publication.
To those who served as members of the task force and its work groups for more than three
years for their time, expertise, and commitment to addressing the issues of sexual
exploitation by counselors and therapists. |
|
Disclaimer
Exploitation
