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Section 6
FAC 64B4-10.002 Definition of Sexual Misconduct;
491.0111 Sexual Misconduct
(Regulation is reprinted at the beginning of this section)

Question 6 | Test | Table of Contents

FAC 64B4-10.002 Definition of Sexual Misconduct;
FS 491.0111 Sexual misconduct

- Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register. (2025). Rule 64B4 64B4-10.002
Sexual Misconduct in the Practice of Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Social Work, and Mental Health Counseling. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from https://flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?title=SEXUAL%20MISCONDUCT%20IN%20THE%20PRACTICE
%20OF%20MARRIAGE%20AND%20FAMILY%20THERAPY,%20CLINICAL%20SOCIAL%20WORK%
20AND%20MENTAL%20HEALTH%20COUNSELING&ID=64B4-10.002

Sexual Misconduct
Application Example...
Violation of the Therapist Sexual Contact Boundary

We, as therapists, would like to think that mental health professionals taking sexual advantage of their clients is a problem that was left far behind in the free love era of the 70's and 80's and in the AIDS awareness of the 90's. One would certainly feel this is not something to be concerned with, especially in this lawsuit prone new millennium. Don't you hear at least one advertisement per night on television from a lawyer pleading you to sue someone about something?

♦ 3 Rationalizations for Sexual Violation
But the truth is many mental health professions rely on a number of rationalizations and assumptions that allow us to maintain certain beliefs about balancing the power in the therapeutic relationship regarding sexual contact boundary. Here are three I've found. See where you fit.
1. Are you thinking, right now, balancing therapeutic power regarding the sexual contact with clients no longer exists?
2. Do you think that the occurrence of this contact is currently greatly exaggerated?
3. Do you think that we are able to, "so to speak," police ourselves; and that clients who complain are treated with dignity and respect?
I feel beliefs that maintain the silence about abuse of patients, clients, residents, etc. perpetuate these rationalizations.

My belief is that understanding is the first step to learning. My hope is that you feel you have a real interest in learning more about this complex and emotionally laden topic.

Assess Therapist's Self-Talk
Bad Apple, Victim Blaming, and Sexism

If you are uncomfortable with the topic of physical contact boundaries and the balance of power with the mental health professional, take a second to do some honest soul-searching to see if your self-talk falls into one of the following categories.

5 Categories of Therapist Self-Talk

♦ Category #1. The "Bad Apple" Theory
This first one is what I call the "Bad Apple Theory." It goes something like this: therapists who abuse clients are "Bad Apples" that bear no relation to the rest of the mental health profession. If you feel this way... I feel your belief may be fueled by the few cases of repeated sexual abuse by a professional whose cruel and bizarre behavior seems far removed from that of a caring and compassionate mental health professional.

It's easy to write these people off as sociopaths and take an "us-them" attitude, but, in fact, problems with the "balance of power in the therapeutic relationship" are a perpetual difficulty for therapists. Sometimes the line dividing abuse, impropriety, and unethical professional behavior is blurred. This blur is indicated in the articles found in your Course Content Manual.

♦ Category #2. Do You Want to Blame the Victim?
Secondly, regarding your self-talk and this attitude assessment exercise, at a certain level, do you want to blame the victim? Even when the sexual violation is recognized, we may find ourselves looking at the victim's emotional problems or personality traits. After all, haven't we all counseled clients who are on the borderline of reality that could misconstrue even the most innocent remark or gesture as a sexual violation?

As you may know, focusing on client characteristics is a common strategy used by lawyers who defend sexually abusive mental health professionals. We would like to pathologize the client to such an extent that they appear to exonerate or partially exonerate the professional. I have found, in my practice, a typical description of female clients who were sexually involved with their therapists was often depicted by the opposing council as "hysterical" and promiscuous.

♦ Category #3. Sexism
Thirdly, regarding your self-talk, ask yourself, is sexism involved in your thinking? The old saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" seems to underlie feelings of some judges in our court system today. One of my clients, I'll call Mary, was found by the court to be making "false allegations." The court felt these allegations were vindictive acts against her male therapists, whom the court felt Mary perceived as being disinterested and rejecting.

♦ Category #4. Therapists Never Feel Attracted to Clients!
Fourthly, for whatever reason, you may feel that therapists never feel attracted to their female clients. I'm surprised, when I talk with other mental health professionals, because they see therapists as benign, compassionate eunuchs, so to speak, far removed from the trials and tribulations of ordinary people. Some view all therapists as dedicated and nurturing parental figures. Think about it... this belief is carried over into college and university training programs, where there is little or no instruction pertaining to sexual attraction to clients.

♦ Category #5. What is Your Professional Code of Ethics?
Fifth, in this attitude assessment is: what is your professional code of ethics? Do you feel we are totally able to police ourselves, so to speak? Do you feel mental health professions are able to stand apart from their biases, like the ones just mentioned?
Reviewed 2026

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article References:
Bellamy, N. D., Wang, M. Q., McGee, L. A., Liu, J. S., & Robinson, M. E. (2019). Crisis-counselor perceptions of job training, stress, and satisfaction during disaster recovery. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 11(1), 19–27.

Harper, K. L., Lee, D. J., Moshier, S., Zweig, I., Keane, T. M., & Marx, B. P. (2025). Is adequate dose adequate? An examination of the impact of psychotherapy on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms utilizing Veterans Health Administration medical records. Psychological Services, 22(1), 167–176.

Hill, C. E., Lu, Y., Gerstenblith, J. A., Kline, K. V., Wang, R. J., & Zhu, X. (2020). Facilitating client collaboration and insight through interpretations and probes for insight in psychodynamic psychotherapy: A case study of one client with three successive therapists. Psychotherapy, 57(2), 263–272.

Litton, S. C. (2025). The wild and wooly world of electronic health records (who would have thought?). Practice Innovations, 10(4), 334–347.

Lowman, R. L. (2025). Consultants’ and managers’ ethical and legal responsibilities in artificial intelligence applications. Consulting Psychology Journal, 77(2), 104–117.

QUESTION 6 What is the definition of sexual misconduct by a psychotherapist? To select and enter your answer go to Test.

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