Crossing the line
Houghton, William
CROSSING THE LINE William Houghton I must admit I have rather enjoyed watching the bishops and cardinals of the Holy Roman Catholic Church squirm under the glare of public scrutiny lately. When I...
...As he further analyzed his relation with her, he discovered that along with his "love" for her were a great deal of hatred (repressed), and an overweening need to be seen as wonderful (related both to deficits in his past and diminishing supplies of self-esteem in the present...
...We psychiatrists and therapists went through our period of public disgrace in the middle 1980s and early 1990s...
...Neither sinned against nor sinning (much), I sweated the possibility that my sins would pop out of my brain unwittingly at any moment...
...I agonized over the question of whether I should report him to the licensing board and DA, and still do...
...That may all seem bookish and "analytic," I agree, but it's new to him, coming after his recent depressed position...
...I referred him to a trusted psychoanalyst-because I've been a colleague and couldn't be neutral-and Tony and I continued our monthly consultations...
...What should I do with "Tony...
...The estimates are that 5 to 10 percent of therapists have sex with patients...
...Finding the usual remedies insufficient, I have counted largely on my own relationship with Tony and on my sense that in his personal therapy he has dug deeply into his less acceptable motives...
...I pressured him to end the so-called "treatment" of the woman-giving her a good referral-and with real grief he accomplished that...
...As a result, about half the states made a patchwork of laws...
...If a patient reports to me that an earlier therapist had sex and the patient wants to make a complaint, it is relatively simple...
...Are you ever really sure about someone's behavior after he has shown he can lose his bearings...
...A predatory offender may lose his license for good...
...The coworkers then denied they knew and wouldn't discuss it, based, no doubt, on fear and good legal advice...
...So Tony and I muddle along, pretty sure, but not certain...
...At least, most of the time...
...Of course, I was concerned about both the patient and the psychologist...
...The licensing board evaluates each case individually...
...They too are saddled with the task of regeneration...
...In fact, he said he loved her and was upset about it only because she was talking about another man...
...I proposed to him and several coworkers in the know that we set up a local "support network," a cordon sanitaire, a group of people who would keep an eye on Tony and of whom he would always be conscious...
...I am glad that I have one great advantage over the church hierarchy at this point...
...I was angry at his deceit and bad judgment, but concerned that a colleague was off his rocker, too...
...And is that how the bishops and cardinals thought of the sinning priests...
...And I'm way too cynical about general principles of morality- always seeing exceptions-to mount a pulpit and lay down a rule for everyone.for everyone...
...and that goodness and badness are not readily divided-they usually simmer together in the same person...
...Attorneys advised me it was legal and prudent, under the Wisconsin statutes, not to report Tony...
...If it is the first lapse for a psychiatrist or therapist, perhaps at a point of stress, the board may suspend him for one year or more and recommend therapy...
...Further proof that the change is genuine, if needed-and I do need it-is that he thinks more often of his wife and kids, and brings more empathy to treating depressed males, too...
...The woman patient opposed any reporting and threatened a suit if her confidentiality were breached...
...He's a fifty-year-old psychologist who confessed to me three years ago that he had had sex with an adult female patient...
...It is part of the job of a psychiatrist to make guilt reasonable and to move toward forgiveness and repair, and I think Tony is doing that...
...When I was a youth, the priests and nuns watched my every move...
...I would never promise too much for "love...
...The DA may bring criminal charges, and the patient has the option of bringing a civil suit...
...Watching the priests, have you ever felt such schadenfreude...
...I am reminded many times daily that "love" is the excuse for a myriad of aggressive and self-interested motives...
...The same percentage is probably true of internists, gynecologists, surgeons-and clergy of all denominations, teachers, and even politicians and attorneys...
...I have no easy answers for them-I'm not that sure about the "cure" of married priests and the ordination of women, either-but I do hope the church learns more clearly that people are full of sex always-it can't be shut off...
...Zero tolerance looks easy and seems to settle the problem, but it's not exactly the tradition of redemption...
...The patient can participate either by name or anonymously...
...What ultimately swung me over to keeping privacy was my belief that Tony had sex with just one patient, not a series (and an adult, not a child...
...I consulted a score of colleagues, attorneys, and bioethicists...
...I inform the licensing board and the district attorney, and they do their job...
...I encouraged him to sound out the licensing board through an intermediary, but he refused, fearful they would act precipitously...
Vol. 129 • June 2002 • No. 11
