The Intimate Hour: Love and Sex in Psychotherapy - Hardcover

Baur, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039582284X ISBN 13: 9780395822845

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 1997

Synopsis

Drawing on hundreds of cases of mutual attraction between therapists and patients, a clinical psychologist examines the many forms of attraction in therapy, from blatant victimization to true love

About this title

Reviews

Finding that the central role of intimacy between client and psychotherapist has been drastically diminished by narrow, legalistic regulations of the field, clinical psychologist Baur (The Dinosaur Man; Confiding) convincingly argues that more attention, rather than less, must be paid to the place of love in therapy. While unequivocally opposed to the sexual exploitation that so readily occurs in relationships marked by distinct differences in levels of authority (cleric/layperson and teacher/student relationships are also examined), Baur observes that the limitations imposed on practitioners today, while effectively limiting occasions of abuse, at the same time rigidly codify a process that is by nature fluid and individual. Furthermore, by casting clients as potential victims, these same formulations deny clients the principal role in their healing. Baur begins with a look at the history of sexual encounters in psychotherapy; she then examines the development of therapy and its regulation in the U.S. In the final section, "Why Can't We Talk About Love?" she looks at therapy's future, noting that the growing preponderance of women practitioners will reduce the amount of exploitation, which most commonly occurs between a male therapist and female client. Baur makes an eloquent plea for bringing the issues of love and sexual attraction squarely into the education of therapists, so that the central position of love?with its frequent companion, desire?is not slighted, but can be better understood and prepared for. Includes notes and an extensive bibliography.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A perceptive and empathetic psychologist tackles a touchy subject--the role of love in therapy. Finding little solid research on the subject, Baur (The Dinosaur Man, 1991; Confiding, 1994; etc.) uses stories from the past and present to illustrate the various kinds of relationships that form between doctor and patient, therapist and client. She rejects as oversimplified the currently popular view that such erotic entanglements are necessarily instances of a powerful person preying on a weaker one for personal gain. From Jung's lengthy affair with Sabina Spielrein and Otto Rank's obsession with Ana‹s Nin to a present- day woman suing her psychiatrist for sexual abuse, the stories she tells show that the nature of the bond is indeed complex. To the question of whether a close bond is essential to effective therapy, and further, whether love should be a part of that bond, Baur's answer is a firm ``yes.'' At their best, she asserts, the feelings of love between therapist and client can be compared to the medieval ideal of courtly love--pure and unfulfilled. Rather than denying the role of love in therapy, it is time, she says, to acknowledge it, to study it. To those alarmed by what they have seen as the increased victimization of female patients, Baur notes that the issue of sex in therapy will gradually disappear as the philosophy of relational therapy, which emphasizes the curative power of the relationship between client and therapist, puts the parties on a more equal footing, and as women increasingly outnumber men as providers of therapy. Another force for change, and one that Baur deplores frequently, is the growth of managed health care, with its limits on therapy and its regulations affecting therapists. The intimate hour, she fears, may be transformed into a brief business transaction. Intriguing ideas about the past and present of psychotherapy for both therapists and those they counsel. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

When love and erotic encounters take place between psychotherapists and their patients, it has been politically correct to assume the therapist has taken advantage of an innocent client. Clinical psychologist Baur attempts here to explode what she considers a myth by presenting case studies that examine both sides of the issue and by acknowledging the relationship of love to therapy. Baur suggests that recent laws and regulations intended to protect patients from unethical therapists have fostered overly cautious and undemonstrative clinicians, resulting in loss of trust and affection-ingredients necessary for successful therapy. The history of sexual encounters in psychotherapy, the current situation, and why psychotherapists can't talk about love are the three major topics covered by Baur. Extensive notes are included for each chapter. This informative, readable book will be a useful addition to psychology collections in large public and academic libraries.
Elizabeth Goeters, DeKalb Coll. Lib., Dunwoody, Ga.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When a patient and therapist embark on a sexual relationship, is it always a matter of abuse? Clinical psychologist Baur explores that provocative question in this intriguing study. Using stories and examples of attraction between therapists and patients, including the famed patient dalliances of noted therapists Carl Jung, Anton Mesmer, and Otto Rank, Baur shows that there is no clear-cut pattern of blame or victimization. Although several of the circumstances definitely contain elements of exploitation, there are also instances of mutual attraction, respect, and love. The firsthand accounts in this book confirm that sexual attraction between therapists and patients is common and, despite industry regulations, continues to occur. Baur points out that it is these regulations and the fear of scandal, lawsuits, etc., that have left patients and therapists with nowhere to turn for help in these matters. Appeals to general readers, but most interesting to those concerned with psychotherapy and patient-therapist relationships. Kathleen Hughes

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 039582284X
• ISBN 13: 9780395822845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 309