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Abusive therapists gain control over clients by using the same tactics cult leaders do.

The power differential in therapy makes clients especially vulnerable to manipulation.

Credentials and licenses do not automatically guarantee ethical behavior.

When most people think of a cult, they picture an organization with one leader and many followers. However, the same manipulative dynamics can exist in a one-on-one relationship, including between a therapist and client.

We trust therapists with something profound: access to our hurts and pains, seeing us at our most vulnerable. The trust creates an enormous power imbalance, and, as with any power imbalance, a therapist acting unethically, can misuse it.

The Problem with Power Differentials

When a person enters therapy, the therapist presents themselves as an authority on the human mind and behavior, someone who is qualified to help us solve and work through our most intimate situations. The perception of expertise creates immediate vulnerability, which a therapist has a responsibility to recognize and manage.

The ethical responsibility for maintaining appropriate boundaries rests entirely with the therapist, never the client. Yet, in cases of therapist abuse, the therapist may attempt to shift blame onto the client. Meanwhile, the therapist’s authority goes unchallenged, and the relationship may continue for years with no measurable........

© Psychology Today