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vendredi 3 avril 2015

Dangers Of Emotional Abuse By A Psychotherapist

By Aimee Schwartz


The practice of psychotherapy has been marred with cases of abuse for years. There are two ways therapists abusing their clients-emotionally and sexually. Sexual abuse has been checked by patients who report it to the relevant bodies and the responsible counselors arrested and prosecuted. The other form, emotional abuse by a psychotherapist has not been checked because victims rarely report it.

People seek therapy for many reasons. Therapeutic sessions are meant to help patients feel secure, safe and happy again. For this to happen, both the therapist and client should create a healthy and stable environment in order to develop trust. Its only in a trustworthy relationship that a client expresses their feelings or emotions about specific things disturbing their peace.

The client-therapist relationship is, however, complicated. There is an imbalance of power with the counselor having a significant amount of power or influence over the client. Consequently, the relationship is open to abuse. Clients with a history of abuse are the most vulnerable because they may not differentiate between therapy and violation.

The good thing is that it is easy to differentiate between acts of therapy and those of violation. However, to do so, patients must always be on the watch out. The best way to achieve this is to examine the boundaries of the relationship between the therapist and client. The line between professional and personal relationship between the counselor and therapist should not feel blurry at all.

Another indicator of a blurry relationship is sessions that have no defined period of time. In addition, the client and therapist should not belong to the same social circles or attend similar events, professional or otherwise. In addition, the therapist must respect you as a client and adhere to professional guidelines on how he or she should treat you.

After examining the relationship, start looking at how the therapist treats you. If you feel like he or she is abusing you, its probably right, go with your instinct on this one. Do they give humiliating, degrading, manipulative or intimidating things to you? Or do they make you feel hopeless or that you are absolutely dependent on them. When you miss a session, do you feel anxious?

The first step is talk to a friend, spouse or parent in an attempt to seek out more information. Also, you might want to check the Internet for help. These sources of information will help you confirm whether your psychotherapist is abusing you. In addition, you may seek another therapist, probably one who does not your previous one. Lastly, you may contact legal counsel, launch a formal complaint with the board or go to the police.

Emotional abuse is a trauma by itself. It is even worse if it is orchestrated by someone you trusted. Patients who have been abused before are probably the most vulnerable. The net result is more emotional burdens for the patients who sometimes become suicidal.




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