Emotional Affair With Therapist Or Abuse Or Both?

[platypusbunny]

I still find myself at a loss with regards to my last therapist. I saw a short term counselor after it all ended and she called it abuse, and said I was groomed. Looking back it feels like this massive spiral that I couldn't see happening. I have almost 400 emails from this therapist who I saw for about a year. I became very suicidal. In the end, he sent me many angry emails when I cut him off, including ones where he told me "what was really wrong with me".

My husband today accused me of having an emotional affair with this therapist. I don't know how to respond. I guess it's true? It feels like waking up from a weird sort of dream.

 

[somerandomguy]

That sounds horrible. That sounds abusive. I wouldn't begin to know what to tell your husband. Maybe start by telling him what your short-term counselor said?

 

[Friday]

Even if it were a sexual affair, it would still be abuse.

A Therapist/Client relationship is not peer based between equals, but between a professional & vulnerable population. Which is why -whilst not illegal as long as everyone is of age- she would lose her license the same way a teacher would lose their job for sleeping with students.

 

[Abstract]

If you leave all else aside and are trying to figure out if it could have been an emotional affair instead then it can't be. It is up to the therapist to keep the "relationship" professional. Anything other than that is an abuse of their position.

Its a very powerful dynamic

 

[Emotional girl]

I think every single therapeutic relationship could be seen as a emotional affair after all you are disclosing personal information about yourself to another person that you wouldn't tell anyone else in the world.
I was really close to my last therapist but you know what he kept professional boundaries and so therefore I always felt safe with him.
What you have said about your ex therapist sounds like control and abuse of power and not a healthy and safe therapeutic relationship.

 

[Swift]

An "emotional affair" requires an equal level of consent on both parts.

That doesn't happen in a client-therapist relationship.

Is this (expletive) still practicing? Because this is the sort of thing he can, and should, be deregistered for. He took advantage of your therapeutic relationship to hurt you, to email you excessively, 400 emails is more than one a day if you saw him for a year - and you took steps to cut off contact, to which he responded angrily, and relying on your trust in him as a therapist, told you what was "really" wrong with you....

Does your husband understand the concept of malpractice? Because this is the literal definition of it. The wrongdoing on your ex-therapist's side is staggering. I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

[brokenpony]

can you please give some examples of how he groomed you? i feel like something similar is happening to me and i’m very confused. feel like i cant trust myself. :(