Emotional Abuse By A Psychotherapist And Its Effects On Patients

By Lucia Weeks


A person who has suffered from a traumatic disorder would usually seek treatment from psychotherapy so that they will not be haunted by their memories any longer. So as one can see, psychotherapists would actually have a very important job as they are in charge of the emotional stability of their patient. However, there are times when it is actually the therapist that does more damage as there are actually some cases of emotional abuse by a psychotherapist.

Now one of the most common ways for patients to be emotionally abused by their therapists is for their therapists to act unprofessional. Now according to a certain code of ethics that therapists would follow, there is a strict rule about professionalism. In no circumstances should a therapist exhibit behavior that is unprofessional.

Of course there is a thing as getting too close to the patient as this kind of friendly relationship is not healthy. It is for this reason that a line must always be drawn between the patient and the therapist. If ever this line should be broken, then there might be some negative things that might happen with the patient.

The thing about having this kind of close relationship is that the psychotherapist might actually open up things to the patient that should not be opened up. If he or she is mentally unstable, any trigger might just spark something in his or her mind which will create a negative effect. It is for this reason that therapists are to just concentrate on treatment and not trying to make friends or trying to get close.

Now there are other cases that are more extreme wherein the therapist would actually be tactless or cold. Now as stated above, a therapist is supposed to be professional but he should be cold. Now the thing about being too tactless is that he may put off the patient by saying things that might spark a trigger in his mind.

Now if ever the patient does get hurt, he will not open up to the therapist anymore and the therapy session will be rendered useless. As a psychotherapist, one should be able to understand his patient and diagnose him. From that diagnosis, he will be able to create a solution to the problem.

Of course one of the bad effects of this kind of behavior would of course lead to the condition of the patient becoming much worse. First, they will not want to open up to anyone anymore because their issues with people might become bigger. It is from there that depression might set in because they will feel like they have no where to go.

So as one can see, it is very important that a therapist would always take note of his behavior with patients. Now do take note that being a therapist is not just about the money. It is about helping people with their emotional problems so that they can get better. Patients are putting their mental health in the hands of the therapist and it is the job of the therapist to handle that trust with care and give the proper treatment.




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