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The Forseeability Of Transference: Extending Employer Liability Under Washington Law For Therapist Sexual Exploitation Of Patients, Timothy E. Allen

Washington Law Review

Transference, or the idealization of therapists, is a phenomenon that is foreseeable in every relationship between a therapist and a patient, and makes patients uniquely vulnerable to sexual exploitation by therapists. Transference has been recognized as a basis for finding therapists directly liable for harm resulting from sexual relations with patients. However, limitations on damages directly available from therapists lead patients to seek redress from therapists' employers under theories of employer liability. Washington courts generally deny victimized patients relief from the employers of sexually exploitative therapists. This Comment argues that Washington courts should impose employer liability when therapists sexually exploit …