Of the 585 psychologists who responded, 87% (95% of the men and 76% of the women) reported having been sexually attracted to their clients, at least on occasion. More men than women gave “physical attractiveness” as the reason for the attraction, while more women therapists felt attracted to “successful” clients.
Can therapists sense that their clients are attracted to them?
Therapists feel a range of emotions toward clients—from disgust to lust. Its natural for therapists to feel attraction, says Shaw. We do experience an emotional intimacy with our clients. Even if they harbor no romantic feelings, many clients admit to yearning for a therapists approval.
Do therapists need to like their clients?
You dont have to like a person to do a good job as a therapist, says June Wolf, PhD, assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. But if you actively dislike somebody, its much harder to do a good job.
Do therapists ever look up their clients?
A 2016 study, for example, found that most patients do indeed look up their therapists online. As a result, the majority of therapists have taken steps to limit the information that is available about them online. Examples include adjusting their social networking settings to private.
Do therapist worry about their clients?
She explains that its natural for people to feel insecurities or hesitations while working with their therapist, as they might with any other person. But many of the subjects that clients are shy to open up about, Morin says, their therapist is not concerned about at all.
Why some therapists are bad?
Some signs of a bad therapist are easy to spot. If your therapist insults or shames you, its time to find someone new. Others are more difficult. The therapist might encourage you to blame others or become overly defensive about a criticism.
Can therapy make things worse?
It is actually normal to occasionally feel bad or worse after therapy, especially during the beginning of your work with a therapist. It can be a sign of progress. As counterintuitive as it may sound, feeling bad during therapy can be good.