There are many people who write about therapy abuse and what it does to the clients/victims. This can't go on like this please, make this a crime and go after the therapists who abuse their power.
In an article by Mike Ricksecker here is what he had to say "They cry out for understanding, but rarely receive it. Victims of therapist abuse are forced to live with the horror that they can't even trust the person they're supposed to be able to safely tell their darkest secrets to. Therapist abuse is using the imbalance of power in the therapeutic relationship to control, manipulate, and exploit clients, including their sexuality. Compounding the problem, once a client has come to the realization that she or he has been exploited and abused by a therapist, much of the general public turns their heads at the matter, blaming the victim under the premise that the circumstances must have been consensual regardless of the ethics.
Victim blaming is nothing new. Rape victims are often accused of making poor decisions like choice of clothing, being flirtatious, or being in a bad area of town. Blamers invoke the obtuse mantra that “she should have known better” instead of recognizing the appalling nature of this crime of power and control. Therapist abuse is also rooted in power and control as the therapist earns the trust of a patient who confides the atrocities of her or his life, usually stemming from childhood.
According to Professional Therapy Never Includes Sex, a supplement produced by the state of California where therapist abuse is illegal (it's not yet illegal inMaryland), “Therapists are trusted and respected, and it is common for patients to admire and feel attracted to them. However, a therapist who accepts or encourages these normal feelings in a sexual way — or tells a patient that sexual involvement is part of therapy — is using the trusting therapy relationship to take advantage of the patient. … Many people who endure this kind of abusive behavior from therapists suffer harmful, long-lasting emotional and psychological effects.” The state of New York just recently determined therapist abuse is statutory rape.
Find out what's happening in Odenton-Severnfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The resistance the general public has displayed in taking a stand against therapist abuse has been self-evident. LynettesLaw4Maryland.com has posted two new petitions on causes.com, splitting its original from change.org in half. The first petition is a call to criminalize therapist abuse in Maryland. The second is to require background checks for all mental health professionals in the state. The numbers show the latter petition has been receiving four times as many signatures at the time of this writing, a clear indication that people are not comfortable in recognizing therapist abuse.
Heather Sinclair, founder of the Lynette's Law 4 Maryland movement, comments on the dilemma, “My hope is that people realize this isn't an isolated incident and people, mostly women which have been raped, molested, and abused in their past, are the ones being raped again by their therapists. We all fight these abuses for children, but please remember when you turn your back on therapist abuse you are turning your back on those same abused children. They are just adults now.”
