____________________________________________ Professional Ethics and Law in California, 2nd Edition
2. Sexual transgressions: Violations such as inappropri- ate touching. 3. Sexual violations: Violations that include sexual relationships. In the same article, Ravart and Assalian report on a color- ful categorical system to describe mental health professionals who engage in sexual misconduct. This system—which offers another, simpler perspective on professionals who offend in this way—groups offenders into six types: 1. The Naïve Prince (8% of Irons and Schneider’s sample of 137): These individuals are new to the profession and develop a privileged relationship with one or more clients, blurring the boundaries. They are psychologically healthy and feel remorse for their sexual misconduct. 2. The Wounded Warrior (22%): These individuals are generally psychologically healthy, but they are trying to escape professional demands, internal struggles, and unresolved childhood and adolescent issues with their sexual relationship. They feel remorse over the relationship. 3. The Self-Serving Martyr (24%): These professionals are in mid- to late career and have become isolated and resentful over sacrifices they have made and what they perceive as a lack of appreciation. Sexual misconduct is meant to relieve their suffering. These individuals are often dealing with addictive disorders. They may also have a personality disorder. 4. The False Lover (19%): These individuals display creativity, intensity, and charm. They indulge in drama and lack impulse control. For these people sexual misconduct fills a need for excitement. They usually have a personality disorder, which is often their primary diagnosis, often with narcissistic, his- trionic, and dependent features. 5. The Dark King (12%): These professionals need to control and dominate and are driven by grandiosity. These people are often highly intelligent but have a number of personality disorders. 6. The Wild Card (15%): These people often have severe mental disorders and may even be suffering from dementia. Anyone working in mental health practice has experienced different relationships with clients. Sometimes it is nearly impossible not to form respect and even affection for clients. However, practitioners must work diligently to avoid problems, that is, either crossing the boundaries of the professional relationship or even appearing to do so. In addition to other previously discussed actions designed to prevent harm to the client, workers can proactively address this issue by doing the following:
Assalian and Ravart (2003) have identified two types of sexually offending professionals. They are described as affec- tive or predatory . Affective offenders tend to have unresolved emotional problems and may engage in counter-transference, be depressed, or have substance abuse issues. They may have underlying and unresolved abandonment issues. Predatory offenders tend to have personality disorders that include narcissistic, borderline, or psychopathic features. Predatory offenders have integrated their behaviors to use and exploit others in order to meet their needs. Assalian and Ravart have identified seven subtypes within the affective and predatory types. They include: 1. Sadistic: Offenders who enjoy using their power and authority to control and dominate the victim, receiv- ing marked pleasure from being cruel and provoking suffering 2. Exploitative: Offenders who purposely use their power and authority to fulfill their needs, including the need to dominate and control 3. Incidental: Offenders who have impulsively behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner one time 4. Narcissistic: Offenders who demonstrate a need for attachment, admiration, approval, validation, love, and attention 5. Angry: Offenders who persistently sexually harass and offend against women 6. Compensatory: Offenders who offend to fulfill unmet needs for closeness, affection, and sexual relations 7. Interpersonal: Offenders who are motivated to estab- lish a close, intimate, and long-lasting relationship. The relationship appears to be authentic without clear signs of exploitation or abuse. In a Swiss study, Moggi and colleagues (2000) sought to understand what risk factors might make some women more vulnerable to sexual exploitation by therapists. They found that the women who had experienced sexual exploitation had experienced more parental rejection as children than a control group of women who had been in therapy but who had not experienced the exploitation. They had also experienced more sexual violence. Most offending therapists are male and most exploited clients are female (Capawana, 2016). Ravart and Assalian (2003) reference Sealy (2002) concern- ing the three severity levels of professional sexual misconduct: 1. Sexual impropriety: Violations such as inappropriate sexual remarks.
35
EliteLearning.com/Psychology
Powered by FlippingBook