Victims of therapist abuse may develop symptoms specific to common types of abuse. A victim’s injuries may include:
- Physical injuries resulting from sexual abuse
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety
- Depression
You may not normally think of certain abuse symptoms as injuries. Many of these symptoms are psychological or emotional in nature, and may not reveal themselves right away.
Even so, such emotional or psychological injuries may cause significant harm to the victim’s quality of life. A therapist abuse lawyer can help you seek compensation.
What Qualifies as Therapist Abuse?
Therapists must meet a high standard of patient care. Mental health professionals willingly accept great responsibility to their patients when they enter the field. If the therapist falls short of his or her duty to the patient in any way, therapists risk committing abuse.
We represent therapist abuse victims nationwide. Some forms of patient abuse we have seen include::
- Making unwanted, verbal intimate advances: Therapists must show the utmost professionalism in how they treat their clients. The slightest hint of intimate advances can be extremely harmful to the patient. Comments about the patient’s appearance, requests to meet with the patient outside of therapy, or other hints at intimacy may qualify as abusive conduct—or, if not abuse, simply misconduct.
- Making physical, sexual advances: The journal Cogent Psychology explains that sexual misconduct is “a serious problem within psychology”. A therapist may misconstrue a patient’s words or actions, taking them to be signs of affection. Even if a patient does have feelings for the therapist, it is the therapist’s responsibility to respect the therapist-patient boundary.
- Verbal intimidation: A therapist may resort to verbal intimidation for any number of reasons. If the therapist engages in some form of misconduct and fears the consequences, they may threaten the patient. This sort of verbal intimidation only makes the therapist more liable for misconduct.
- Emotional or psychological manipulation: A therapist may emotionally or psychologically manipulate their patient to make them dependent on their services. This can certainly qualify as a form of abuse.
These are only some of the ways that a therapist may neglect his duty to a patient. If you have suffered mistreatment of any other kind, an attorney can explain whether you have grounds for a lawsuit or other type of action.
For a free legal consultation, call,
(888) 585-2188
What Types of Damages Can Occur Because of Therapist Abuse?
Whenever a therapist violates his or her patient, harm takes place. The type of harm that the victims suffer is personal and may vary depending on how the therapist harmed them. The symptoms of the abuse may not reveal themselves right away.
In cases of sexual abuse, a victim may suffer physical injuries. They may also suffer psychological and emotional trauma related to sexual abuse. In cases where a therapist abuses the victim verbally, emotionally, or psychologically, injuries may not be physical. However, the victim may suffer from depression, feelings of mistrust, substance abuse, self-harm, and other serious symptoms of abuse.
Note that everyone has a unique response to trauma. If you have experienced symptoms that are not listed here, those symptoms are valid. You deserve justice for any harm that you’ve suffered because of a therapist’s neglect.
How Victims of Therapist Abuse Can Seek Justice for Their Mistreatment
When a therapist commits abuse of their patient, the violation of trust cannot stand. Our firm will fight for the justice that you deserve, as therapist abuse cases are a major segment of our practice areas. Simply call our firm, and we will get the legal process started for you.
In the meantime, you can:
- Keep a written account of the types of abuse you’ve suffered and how those forms of abuse have caused you harm
- Refrain from speaking with the abusive therapist
- Refrain from discussing your case with anyone but your attorney
Once you hire an attorney from our firm, we will explain the next steps in your case. We will also protect your rights.
Click to contact our personal injury lawyers today
How an Attorney Can Help After an Instance of Therapist Abuse
Once you retain our firm, you can continue to focus on your well-being. We will develop a strategy and start the legal process, which generally requires us to:
- Investigate the abuse: We’ll collect your account of abuse. We may also complete an independent investigation of the mistreatment. This will allow us to gather all relevant facts about your case.
- Collect evidence: We will gather any evidence that details your abuse by a therapist. This evidence could be compelling during settlement negotiations.
- Document your damages: Mental health professionals, experts, and your treatment records may all document your damages.
- File your case: We will draft and file your case, as well as any other paperwork related to your therapist abuse claim.
- Negotiate a settlement: Our team will negotiate with liable parties, laying out the argument for the compensation you deserve.
If we need to take your therapist abuse case to court, we will.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Call Jenner Law for a Free Consultation About Your Therapist Abuse Case
Call our team as soon as you can. We may face a legal deadline for filing your case, so you do not want to wait. These deadlines, known as statute of limitations, restrict the period available to file a lawsuit.
Call Jenner Law today for a free consultation. We have the experience to get the best possible result for you.
Call or text (888) 585-2188 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form