Female Clients-Protect Yourself from Predatory Narcissistic Psychotherapists
When clients come to therapy they are in a vulnerable psychological state. They are suffering from depression, anxiety or a combination of these, insomnia, panic attacks, physically and emotionally abusive relationships, stress headaches, etc. In this blog post I am addressing female clients. When clients enter psychotherapy their defenses are down due to their mental confusion,pure numbness and emotional chaos. This is the time when women are at their most vulnerable and need a therapist they can trust completely. There are many excellent psychotherapists who are highly trained, professionally competent, empathic, ethical, and very skilled in their profession. If you are in need of psychotherapy it is well worth the time and research to find the very best therapist for you.
I am warning female clients about narcissistic male psychotherapists who take advantage of psychologically vulnerable women. These individuals are not therapists; they are predators. I have known of cases and researched many in which the narcissistic therapist initiated sexual relations between himself and the client. These "relationships" are based on manipulation, exploitation, and overpowering the victim. Some female clients who believe they have fallen in love with the therapist, continue these relationships over long periods of time. The result of these unethical liaisons is psychologically devastating to the client. Some client victims become so psychologically fused with the narcissistic psychotherapist that they continue to defend the affair, spinning dreams of having this person become a permanent partner in their lives. Some exploitive narcissists carry on several affairs at once. Why not ! Narcissists haven't developed a conscience. Their idea of right and wrong is based on whether they will get caught. For some of these tawdry men, the thrill of the sexual chase and embrace and the possibility of exposure only heightens the drama for them and makes life even more exciting. It also demonstrates their delusional grandiosity and no limits vision of reality.
Some of the narcissist's victims require psychiatric hospitalization as a result of the aftermath of their pathological union with a professional whom they trusted. The violation of these victims causes severe psychological regressions that may take many years to unravel and work through. Some victims destroy their marriages and end up causing emotional chaos and suffering to their children.
In some instances the victim of the narcissistic therapist reports this abuse to the professional authorities and the perpetrator is severely reprimanded and professional licenses are revoked (as they should be) . This is a difficult but necessary step in exposing this unethical and in some cases unlawful behavior.
Protect yourself from predatory male narcissistic therapists. Pay attention to your instincts and your intuition. Get excellent referrals from other professionals whom you have known for some time and have a great track record. Take your time. Do your research and always listen to that inner voice that informs you what is in your highest good. Visit my website:www.thenarcissistinyourlife.com
Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com
Categories: self help, narcissism, abusive relationships, mental health, narcissist
Tags: sexual relations with clients narcissistic psychotherapists exploitation emotional chaos no conscience
I totally agree with this article. However, I would also like to point out that the same, in my experience, is true for some female therapists. Although, the sexuality isn't present, there may be flaws in the female therapists personality that manifests when the opportunity arises with a female patient who is vulnerable and in need of help.
I went to a female therapist when I heard my NM died. There were far too many unsolved issues. I was angry and upset that I would never be able to get closure. The therapist was recommended to me by my GP. I called her and gave her a quick reason as to why I needed some help. She seemed sympathetic and very sweet over the phone. I went to the appointment and sat waiting in the waiting area.
She stepped out of her office, looked at me, didn't say hello or introduce herself, and walked back into the office. Since I wasn't invited in, I remained in the waiting room. She called to me from inside her office, " You can come in." I walked in and introduced myself. It started right there. She said " You're quite a phony aren't you. You're putting on an act?" Um, excuse me? Since when is smiling and introducing myself, since she didn't, being a phony and putting on an act? I asked her how my introducing myself to her caused her to think I was being phony? " You're very defensive when people criticize you, aren't you?" came the reply. "Um, no. I've just never been so harshly critiqued upon saying "hello" to someone I never met before."
She then moved onto : "You're very pretty. I bet you've used that all your life to get what you want. I bet the men just love you." My brain went on tilt...same feeling that I had when NM was in the vicinity of me. I couldn't believe it. I asked her what this had to do with my coming to her from issues stemming from being abused and scapegoated by an NM my entire life. She replied :"Nothing. But, I have to work on you first before we can get to other issues. What issues can you have? You're pretty. You probably have manipulated people your entire life by using that. You're not going to do that to me." Holy Smokes!! Is she kidding me? I never thought of myself as being pretty. As a matter of fact, I was told by my NM, my entire life, that I was "a mess to look at". Never pretty...and I believed it.
I asked her if she was forming an opinion of me based on my appearance. She said the whole world bases it's opinion of me based on my appearance. I asked if she was, too. She said she was and that was normal. I so I summed it up by saying since she was basing an opinion of me, in less than 5 minutes, based on the fact that I introduced myself and it was deemed phony and the position of my eyes, nose and mouth, and because of that I should have no problems, she was being discriminatory.
She told me I was too defensive for therapy and she was done with me. I left and cried as soon as I reached my car. That's it word for word, blow by blow.
Did I miss something?
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