Criminal therapists expelled for having sex with patients are still practicing

Therapists expelled for having sex with vulnerable patients, supplying them with illegal drugs or being drunk in therapy sessions are still practicing because of dangerous loopholes, an investigation by The i Paper can reveal.

The lack of regulation of the sector means that there is nothing to prevent therapists who have been found guilty of serious misconduct from continuing to see patients. The findings add to the pressure on ministers to act urgently.

Posing as a vulnerable potential customer, The i Paper approached a number of therapists who were still advertising their services despite being rejected by their professional bodies.

The research found:

• A psychotherapist whose professional body found him to pose an “extreme danger to the public… if allowed to practice again” is still practising;
• A counselor who now advertises his services in suicide prevention and marriage counseling once moved a client into his marital home and had a sexual relationship with her, during which he attempted suicide;
• An entire psychotherapy organization withdrew its membership from the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP) a decade ago after the therapist who ran it was accused by two women of sexual misconduct, but the service is still operating .

The i Paper has also discovered that a GP dubbed ‘the dirty doctor’, who was sacked by the General Medical Council for having sex with a number of women who were not patients at his practice, has now set up as a therapist under a name different .

The BACP, the UK’s largest professional psychotherapy organisation, has suspended 14 members in the past five years for serious misconduct, many of them involved in male therapists abusing female patients. However, the BACP confirmed The i Paper that does not know how many of the therapists it has expelled are still practicing.

A spokesman said: “Our jurisdiction only extends to the period that therapists are members of BACP, so once someone is out of our membership we cannot legitimately monitor their practice. Therefore, we do not we have data for that.”

After five years, the BACP removes all details relating to a misconduct case from its website, preventing the public from checking whether or not their therapist has been struck off. The BACP, which broadly supports legal regulation of the profession, told The i Paper that was due to “data protection” laws and that keeping information online “may disproportionately harm a member’s ability to move on from past decisions”.

what i The paper’s research has found

Therapists expelled by professional bodies but discovered by The i The papers which will continue to offer their services to vulnerable clients include those found guilty of sexual exploitation of patients, financial abuse, racism, bullying, supplying drugs to patients and drunkenness in therapy sessions.

There is no legal regulation of therapists and counselors, and even when they are expelled from professional organizations for serious misconduct, there is no way to prevent them from treating the clients they visit.

Many of the cases involved male therapists sexually exploiting female clients. In one case, a therapist named Rob Frazer had had sex with two female clients over several years, drugging one of them. When he was stood down as a member of the UK Psychotherapy Council, after denying the allegations, the tribunal found 29 breaches of his code of ethics and said he posed an “extreme danger to the public” if he continued to practise. But he arranged a session with a reporter from The i Paper, posing as a client seeking help for anxiety, when they are approached.

Another counsellor, Graham Hackney, started treating an “extremely vulnerable boy” when he was 16. Evidence given at a misconduct hearing said that after three years, when the sessions had finished, he went to visit her at her parents’ house when they were away. away and that there had been “inappropriate physical contact and conversations of a sexual nature”. The i Paper contacted him through his therapy website posing as a potential client and was happy to set up a session. After being approached for comment by The i Paper, he said he was now retired.

Another case discovered by The i The role involved Roddy Macdonald, a therapist who now promotes himself as a marriage counselor and a therapist qualified to work with suicidal patients. Mr Macdonald had already been expelled from one professional body, but joined another and then was expelled again for having a sexual relationship with a client and taking her to live with him and his wife, during which he tried to commit suicide.

Britain’s largest organization for therapists, the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, told The i Paper that once it has expelled a member for crime, does not control whether they continue to work as a therapist.

Conservative shadow cabinet minister Alicia Kearns, who has campaigned on mental health issues, told The i The paper’s findings reveal “an extraordinary risk to public protection” and the lack of state regulation of psychotherapy is “allowing predators to prey on people.”

Liberal Democrat mental health spokesman Dr Danny Chambers called The i The paper’s findings are “diseases.”

“The government must take action … this should start by working with regulators and regulated mental health professionals to protect patients from rogue actors.”

Currently, there is only one voluntary accreditation scheme for therapists run by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), but therapists are not required to register with it.

Unlike medicine, there is no minimum education, qualifications or experience requirement to become a therapist and there are no barriers to anyone calling themselves a ‘psychotherapist’, ‘counselor’ or ‘therapist’.

Amanda Williamson, a psychotherapist who has been campaigning for regulation for more than a decade after making a complaint against her own counsellor, described the situation as “the Wild West”.

Research he carried out in 2016 found that almost one in four therapists deregistered from the BACP and UK Psychotherapy Council between 2005 and 2015 were still practicing in 2016.

Mrs Williamson said: “What is it i The document found shows that since our research came out (“Unsafe Spaces”), nothing has changed or improved. Voluntary regulation is not regulation. We need the Government to act urgently before more people get hurt.”

The revelations come as demand for mental health treatment rises to record levels. Five million people in England asked for help in 2023, a third more than in 2019. A new campaign calling for regulation will be launched in December, bringing together MPs and experts.

The was asked for a comment i The paper’s findings, the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Taking advantage of someone who is seeking help while they are most vulnerable is reprehensible and we urge anyone affected to come forward so those responsible can face justice .

“Everyone seeking therapy deserves to have confidence and trust in their healthcare professional, which is why we recommend using qualified professionals accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.”