A good therapist is supposed to be an unbiased guide, a neutral party helping you navigate the messy landscape of your own mind. They’re your confidant, your strategist, your safe space. They are absolutely, under no circumstances, supposed to be a romantic prospect.
But what happens when the professional boundary is completely and utterly obliterated? For one man, the therapist he paid to help his struggling partner failed so badly that it inevitably couldn’t save their relationship. But to add insult to injury, he actively sabotaged it from the inside, all for his own personal gain.
More info: Reddit
A therapist is supposed to be a trusted guide, not a poacher waiting to pounce in your most vulnerable moments
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A man, hoping to help his partner’s mental health, generously paid over £3,000 for her therapy
Image credits: seventyfour / Freepik (not the actual photo)
But as the therapy went on, his partner grew more distant, eventually asking for a divorce
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Months later, he found her diary, which revealed the therapist had been actively encouraging the breakup
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The final, sickening proof came when he saw a video of his ex and the therapist on a romantic holiday
This is a tragic tale of a man who tried to be a supportive partner and ended up paying for his own replacement. His partner was struggling with severe mental health issues, so he did a selfless and loving thing by shelling out over £3,000 to pay for her therapy, hoping it would help her heal and, by extension, save their relationship.
But a strange thing happened while she was in therapy, when he noticed she grew more and more distant. He found himself taking on all the household chores while she pulled away, a slow and painful emotional retreat that culminated in her asking for a divorce. It was a heartbreaking end to what he thought was a supportive partnership.
But months later, the truth came out when he found her old diary while clearing out her things. The pages revealed the shocking and diabolical twist that the therapist he had been paying was an active saboteur. The diary detailed how the therapist had systematically encouraged her to break up with him, with later, torn-out pages suggesting their “therapeutic relationship” had become intimate long before the divorce.
The digital nail in the coffin came when he saw a now-deleted Facebook reel of his ex and the therapist on a romantic holiday together. He had been played in the most unethical way possible. He’s left with a screen recording, a diary full of evidence, and one burning question: is there any way to get justice when the person you paid to fix your life decides to steal it instead?
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The therapist’s behavior is a catastrophic and career-ending ethical violation. According to the code of conduct that governs all therapeutic relationships, a physical or romantic relationship with a current client is one of the most serious breaches of professional ethics. Psi Chi adds that this kind of relationship is considered inherently exploitative due to the major power imbalance and the client’s vulnerability.
This is both an ethical and a legal issue. Super Lawyers explains that this kind of professional misconduct can absolutely be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. The therapist’s actions would likely be seen as a case of professional negligence and a breach of his duty of care, which could make him liable for damages. But this legal route could be exhausting and financially draining, so is the juice worth the squeeze?
Psychologist Dr. Susan Heitler warns that individual therapy can sometimes harm a marriage if the therapist takes sides or encourages a breakup instead of helping the client work through their issues. The therapist in this story took it even further and became a predator, using his position of trust to isolate a vulnerable client and then pursue her himself.
His actions are an unforgivable betrayal of his professional oath. The goal of therapy is to empower the client, not to groom them for a relationship. And this is especially alarming given their massive age difference. The man’s gut feeling that this was sabotage is probably an accurate assessment of a diabolical breach of trust that has no place in the mental health profession.
The internet was horrified, calling the therapist a ‘predator’ and urging the man to report him to every possible board
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