Professional Boundaries Program

The Institute offers comprehensive evaluation and targeted treatment for professional sexual misconduct (PSM), professional boundary concerns, and dynamics related to boundaries and professional role.

Our program focuses on addressing and containing problematic behaviors that are non-consensual and violate the rights of others while assuming a position of power and a role of public trust.  Our program utilizes empirically based cognitive-behavioral treatment, emphasizing personal responsibility and accountability, understanding the factors that contribute to the offense and on relapse prevention.  We also emphasize victim empathy and professional and community safety.

While we provide mandated treatment from regulatory and professional boards, we also treat professionals who come voluntarily and encourage those struggling with boundary concerns to seek supportive treatment.

Services

Our program is for many types of professionals including (but not limited to):

  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Physician Assistants
  • Chiropractors
  • Dentists
  • Psychologists
  • Therapists
  • Counselors
  • Attorneys
  • Corporate Executives
  • Teachers
  • Professors
  • Police Officers
  • Clergy and Religious Leaders

A psychosexual assessment and evaluation is required in order to determine acceptance into the program.  The assessment is used to determine the legal, psychological, mental health and sexual health needs of the professional.  Referrals will be offered to those who do not meet criteria for the program. We do not treat violent offending such as rape, sexual assault or violations that involve the use of physical force, weapons or aggression.

PSM and Professional Boundaries Treatment Components:

The Institute for Sexual Health provides comprehensive evaluation and treatment for professional sexual misconduct (PSM), professional boundary concerns and professional under allegation.  PSM treatment consists of a psycho-sexual evaluation, individual psychotherapy, group therapy and an educational curriculum.  The program offers other related services if clinically indicated such as trauma resolution or family and relational support.

Treatment involves cognitive-behavioral therapy and psycho-education and emphasizes the following components:

Psychosexual Evaluation: The program begins with psychological testing and evaluation.  This typically includes sexuality-based assessment, psycho-physiological, personality, and diagnostic testing. This typically takes 3 – 5 days.

Behavioral Containment: Professionals are helped to immediately stop offending behaviors and required to develop a detailed plan, which defines the specific behaviors they agree to avoid and eliminate.  This becomes a foundation of treatment and monitoring and compliance is emphasized in order to prevent further boundary violation.

Responsibility and Accountability: Professionals are helped to clarify the nature of their boundary concern and required to take responsibility for their behaviors. In a non-shaming environment, they gain insight into the importance of responsibility and take ownership for their choices. This also involves cognitive restructuring, which challenges common defenses such as minimization, denial, blaming others and other justification and rationalization patterns that typically permit the professional to engage in problematic dynamics.

Understanding Factors Contributing to Boundary Concern: Professionals are helped to gain insight into the major contributing factors that led to the boundary violation and are educated on the common risk factors involved in professional sexual misconduct. Professionals develop a detailed description of triggers and vulnerabilities that pertain to their particular professional boundary concern and problematic cycles of behavior. A detailed offense analysis is required in a supportive learning and therapeutic context.

Insight into Professional Misconduct Precursors and Trauma Resolution: Professionals are helped to gain insight into their family of origin, social and emotional development and to make connections and clarify how and why particular patterns and responses developed in their lives.  This involves a detailed autobiographical inventory and includes understanding issues related to family of origin and personal trauma as well as poor coping and problem solving skills.  Within a supportive group context, patients often work on resolving and healing early wounding and unprocessed trauma.  Additional trauma resolution services are provides when clinically indicated.

Victim Empathy:  A critical component of treatment is helping professionals understand how behaviors and patterns of behavior impact others, in particular the victims of professional sexual misconduct.  Victimization includes not only direct victims but also the public at large and the profession itself.  This includes education and assistance in narcissism, emotional regulation, emotional intelligence and how personal wounding and victimization contributes to empathy deficits.  Patients learn about emotional recognition, emotional articulation and are provided with structured exercises to help build empathy skills and to consider the emotional well being of others.

Relapse Prevention and Community Safety:  All professionals are required to develop a highly detailed relapse prevention plan.  This involves integrating the former treatment components into a plan for preventing future boundary violations and misconduct and how to take care of triggers and vulnerabilities.  Professionals are provided with group feedback and refine their relapse prevention plans until they meet program standards, before they graduate from the program.

Professional Re-Integration and Monitoring:  A critical component of treatment of professional sexual misconduct is developing a plan for professional reintegration and return to practice when indicated.  This involves working with regulatory boards, diversion programs, and professionals in the work setting.  This often requires planning and strategies around supervision, compliance monitoring and accountability.  Our goal is to optimize both professional potential and public safety.

Aftercare Program: When professionals graduate from the program and complete treatment, they are encouraged to engage aftercare services.  This includes a once per month aftercare group to process ongoing life issues, to provide a safe place to address any concerns that may relate to triggers or vulnerabilities to boundary concerns, and to provide the type of support necessary for relapse prevention.  A mentorship program is also available for those who desire to be of service and help those in the treatment program.  Professionals can also avail themselves of the lectures and workshops offered by the Institute on an ongoing basis.

Partner, Spouses and Family

We appreciate and empathize with the struggle and the potential impact professional sexual misconduct can have on the partner or spouse and the family system.  We aim to integrate these peripheral services and provide support.  We offer help for the partner and the family.

Psychosexual Evaluations

The Institute provides psychosexual evaluation, risk-assessment, and can provide professionals with documentation of treatment for regulatory and professional boards or agencies.  We accept referrals from attorneys, medical boards, and other regulatory professional boards and related entities.

For information regarding the Professional Boundaries Program, please call us at (310) 286-1300.