Therapist Sexual Abuse in Louisiana: Know Your Rights
Many Americans turn to therapists to help them overcome mental health issues, work through everyday stressors, and manage conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of talk therapy has increased dramatically. In 2024, an estimated 60 million adults received treatment or counseling for their mental health. Approximately 198,811 therapists and 81,000 psychologists are currently licensed to practice in the U.S.
Developing a close, trusting relationship is an essential part of successful therapy. However, a therapist must maintain appropriate professional boundaries. When a therapist takes advantage of a patient’s trust and sexually abuses them, it can be especially traumatic.
Rules Prohibit Therapist-Patient Relationships
Like other professionals, licensed therapists and psychologists must comply with ethical rules established by their professional organizations. For example, the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics prohibits sexual and romantic interactions and relationships with current and former clients, their romantic partners, or their family members for five years following the last professional contact.
Therapists also must follow the laws and regulations set by the states where they are licensed. At least twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws forbidding sexual relationships between a psychotherapist and a patient, including Louisiana. Some are criminal statutes, which can lead to fines or imprisonment; others are civil penalties, which give abuse survivors a way to recover compensation for their damages.
A therapist who engages in any form of sexual contact or behavior with a patient violates their professional boundaries. In many places, they may also be breaking the law. Therapist sexual abuse can take many forms, but every type violates professional trust.
Types of Therapist Sexual Abuse
Therapist sexual abuse takes many forms, but there are some common abusive behavior patterns. These include:
• Boundary violations. Inappropriate physical contact, flirtation, or sexual discussions violate the professional boundaries between therapists and patients. Examples include excessive touching, personal comments, or requests to meet or communicate outside of sessions.
• Sexual harassment. Explicit comments, questions, or discussions about a client’s sexual history unrelated to treatment may be sexual harassment. Other examples include using suggestive body language, discussing their own sexual experiences, or otherwise creating a hostile environment that makes the client feel uncomfortable. This type of harassment during sessions often goes unreported because survivors fear they may have misinterpreted the behavior or that no one will believe them.
• Coercion and manipulation. A therapist may use their position of authority and trust to manipulate clients into sexual activity. They may suggest that intimacy with them is part of the healing process or treatment. Survivors may feel trapped and believe their progress or mental health depends on complying with the therapist’s demands. They may also feel like they consented to the abuse, making them less likely to report it.
• Exploiting vulnerable patients. Abusive therapists often target patients who are particularly vulnerable due to their age, mental health struggles, or past trauma. These patients may be less able to understand or resist the abuser’s behavior, or have issues that impact their credibility or ability to report the abuse.
Experiencing sexual abuse by a therapist is one of the most serious betrayals of trust a person can endure. It can also undermine their trust in the therapeutic process, making it harder for them to seek help for the trauma they’ve experienced.
What To Do if a Therapist Has Abused You
If you’re a survivor of therapist abuse, take steps to protect your health, preserve your legal rights, and begin the process of seeking justice. These include:
• Prioritizing your safety and well-being. If you are in immediate danger, remove yourself from the situation. Seek medical attention if necessary. Record the details of what occurred and document any physical or emotional harm as soon as you can.
• Reporting the abuse. File a complaint with local New Orleans law enforcement and with the Louisiana State Board of Licensed Professional Counselors, the state organization that oversees therapists. Reporting helps protect you and may also prevent the abuser from harming others in the future.
• Gathering evidence. Collect and keep copies of therapy notes, text messages, emails, or any other communications you’ve had with the therapist. These records can play a vital role in supporting your claim.
• Seeking legal counsel. At Lamothe Law Firm, we will listen to your story with compassion, explain your legal options, and fight aggressively to hold the therapist accountable for their abuse of power and trust.
Pursuing Damages for Therapist Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse by a mental health professional is a severe violation of trust that can cause many types of harm. The lasting effect of this trauma may appear immediately after the abuse or emerge gradually over time, making recovery an ongoing challenge. Common types of harm related to therapist abuse include:
• Psychological disorders. Survivors often struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can bring flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety. Many also experience depression, marked by feelings of hopelessness, isolation, or loss of interest in daily life. Therapist abuse can also trigger or worsen existing conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), psychotic episodes, paranoia, and other mental health issues.
• Emotional distress. Many survivors wrongly feel responsible for the abuse and suffer shame and self-blame. This deep emotional pain can affect personal relationships, work performance, and overall quality of life. They may start to question their own judgment, doubting their ability to recognize safe versus unsafe people; this loss of trust can hinder healthy relationships and prevent future healing. Serious emotional distress can also lead to acts of self-harm and possibly even suicidal ideation.
• Physical harm. Survivors may also suffer physical trauma and injuries from unwanted sexual contact. In more serious cases, the abuse can result in long-term health complications, including pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Even when physical injuries heal, the memory of them often intensifies emotional suffering.
A therapist’s betrayal can damage a patient’s sense of safety and identity and cause serious long-term damage to their mental health. Suffering abuse can also make them hesitate or refuse to undergo therapy or other treatment. As a result, survivors often struggle with long-term, unresolved psychological issues, leading to substance abuse, self-harm, and other physical and mental health problems.
Pursuing a Therapist Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
Pursuing a lawsuit can help survivors regain a sense of agency and secure the financial resources they need to heal and move forward. To recover compensation in a Louisiana lawsuit for therapist sexual abuse, a plaintiff must establish certain legal elements. Typically, these are:
• Duty of care. Therapists have a legal duty to act professionally, ethically, and within accepted standards of care towards their patients, including maintaining strict boundaries and avoiding any form of sexual contact.
• Breach of duty. Evidence of inappropriate touching, sexual comments, coercive conduct, or any sexual activity between a therapist and patient can show a breach of a therapist’s legal duty.
• Causation. To recover damages, a plaintiff must show that the therapist’s misconduct directly caused them emotional, psychological, or financial harm.
• Damages. Evidence must show and quantify the amount of economic and non-economic compensation the plaintiff seeks to recover.
Proving these elements requires evidence. This includes documentary evidence, such as charts, records, photographs, videos, audio recordings, and other physical evidence. It can also include testimony from witnesses, medical providers, and experts. Examples include:
• Therapy records and notes, which can reveal inappropriate boundaries, suggest misconduct, or provide direct evidence of abuse.
• Text messages, emails, recorded conversations, and other evidence showing coercion or harassment.
• Eyewitness accounts of friends, family members, and others who observed the survivor’s condition and behavior before and after the abuse.
• Medical and psychological evaluations supporting the facts and documenting the harm caused by the abuse.
• Expert testimony, often from therapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists, explaining the applicable standard of care and how the therapist violated their duties.
The attorneys at Lamothe Law Firm work closely with experts and investigators to obtain evidence and build a strong case for every client.
Civil Damages in a New Orleans Therapist Sexual Abuse Case
In Louisiana, survivors of therapist sexual abuse have the right to pursue a civil lawsuit. Civil damages allow survivors to recover compensation for the abuse and hold wrongdoers accountable. This compensation can include:
• Economic damages. Survivors may recover compensation for medical bills, other out-of-pocket costs, and anticipated future expenses. Examples include bills for therapy, counseling, and other medical services. You may also recover compensation for lost wages or a reduction in your future earning capacity because of the abuse.
• Non-economic damages. The most significant harm from therapist sexual abuse is often emotional rather than financial. Survivors can pursue compensation for their pain and suffering, including trauma, anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life. Many survivors find it difficult to trust others, which can strain friendships, romantic relationships, and family dynamics. Louisiana courts allow a survivor to recover compensation when abuse interferes with their ability to form or maintain healthy connections.
The attorneys at Lamothe Law Firm will carefully document your financial and emotional damages to prevent others from minimizing your losses and diminishing the value of your case.
Lamothe Law Firm: Committed To Helping Survivors Throughout New Orleans
When you are a survivor of therapist abuse, choosing the right attorney can make all the difference in the outcome of your case. At Lamothe Law Firm, our committed advocates stand firmly beside survivors at every stage of the legal process. Each lawyer on our team is dedicated to protecting your rights and fighting for the justice you deserve.
We know how to build strong cases against abusive professionals. We gather evidence, consult experts to prove violations of professional standards, and challenge insurance companies that attempt to minimize your suffering. Our team is committed to holding wrongdoers accountable while pursuing the full compensation you deserve.
We are nationally recognized for the quality of our work and have a proven history of securing meaningful victories in complicated cases. Survivors of therapist sexual abuse need attorneys who are both aggressive litigators and caring supporters, and our firm provides that rare balance. When you place your trust in us, you gain the support of unwavering allies.
To request a free and confidential consultation with our therapist sexual abuse lawyers, contact our New Orleans, LA, law firm today or call (504) 704-1414.
