Psychotherapist and Wiccan
Clergy:
The Ethics of a Dual Relationship
by Ellen C. Friedman, MA, LPC
Abstract
Wiccan clergy psychotherapists
encounter
complex ethical dilemmas due to dual roles. In an
attempt to understand
the extreme complexity of the multiple roles, this
discourse begins
with examination of current ethical codes of the
professional
societies. Recent literature related to dual
relationships in rural and
small communities is surveyed, as well as
decision-making models
effective in these situations. Common ethical
complexities experienced
by clergy psychotherapists are reviewed. Informal
communication with
Wiccan clergy psychotherapists confirms the
multidimensional nature of
the ethics. Options for Wiccan clergy
psychotherapists are considered.
In the course of studying ethics as a
candidate for a master's degree in counseling, I
became aware of
complex ethical dilemmas when considering the
implications of the fact
that in the near future I will practice as both
therapist and Wiccan
priestess. The point of this discourse is to identify
the current views
held by counseling professional societies and to
review recent
literature relevant to the dilemmas encountered by
Wiccan clergy
psychotherapists in their practice. Since no
literature was available
on the specific topic under consideration, I conducted
informal
research with people currently fulfilling the dual
roles.
Dual Relationship Dilemmas
A dual relationship exists when a
psychotherapist serves in the capacity of both
therapist and at least
one other role with the same client. Most commonly the
second
relationship is social, financial, or professional and
may be
concurrent or subsequent to the therapeutic
relationship. In 1992, the
American Psychological Association published research
on common ethical
dilemmas experienced by their members. Dilemmas
arising from "blurred,
dual, or conflictual relationships" were the second
most frequent
ethical dilemma cited by 679 psychologists (as cited
in Pope &
Vasquez, 1998, p. 27). "Dual relationships form the
major basis of
licensing disciplinary actions, financial losses in
malpractice suits
involving psychologists, and ethics complaints against
psychologists"
(Pope & Vasquez, 1998, p. 195). The Code of Ethics
for the American
Counseling Association (ACA) strongly advises
avoidance of harmful dual
relationships whenever possible:
Counselors are aware of their
influential
positions with respect to clients, and they avoid
exploiting the trust
and dependency of clients. Counselors make every
effort to avoid dual
relationships with clients that could impair
professional judgment or
increase the risk of harm to clients. When a dual
relationship cannot
be avoided, counselors take appropriate professional
precautions such
as informed consent, consultation, supervision, and
documentation to
ensure that judgment is not impaired and no
exploitation occurs. (ACA,
1995, Standard A. 6.a.)
The ethics code for the American
Psychological
Association (1992) states that multiple relationships
may be
unavoidable and recommends that therapists remain aware
of the
potentially harmful consequences. They recommend
refraining from
multiple relationships if harm may occur. The ethics
codes of the
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
(1998), National
Association of Social Workers (1998), and the American
Association of
Pastoral Counselors (1994) recommend avoidance of
multiple
relationships that exploit or harm clients. All of the
above codes
strictly prohibit sexual activity between therapist and
client. All but
the AAPT code warns against superior/subordinate dual
relationships
such as when a therapist has an administrative,
supervisory, or
evaluative role with a client.
Pope and Vasquez identify common
ethical
concerns about dual relationships (1998, p. 193-195).
Dual
relationships can erode and distort the professional
nature of the
therapeutic relationship. They may create conflicts of
interest that
compromise professional judgment or create situations
where the
therapist is engaged in meeting his or her own social,
financial, or
other personal needs, rather than putting the welfare
of the client
foremost. Dual relationships can affect the current
and future benefits
of therapy. Pope and Vasquez claim that the power
differential between
a therapist and client is one of the main reasons that
exploitation and
harm can occur. They also mention the concern that the
therapist is
held legally liable and may be called to testify in
court regarding the
patient's diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis. They
admit that not all
dual roles are unavoidable, and caution therapists to
take steps to
minimize harm when multiple relationships do occur by
utilizing
informed consent, negotiation, and professional
consultation.
Pearson and Piazza (1997) classify dual
relationships into five categories in order to aid the
decision making
process of whether or not a dual relationship will
cause harm:
circumstantial roles, structured multiple professional
roles, shifts in
professional roles, personal and professional role
conflicts, and the
predatory professional. Circumstantial multiple roles
are those that
occur by pure coincidence, such as running
into a client at
their sales job in the mall. Structured multiple
professional roles are
acceptable if the nature of all the relationships is
professional.
Shifts in professional roles include difficulties that
arise when a
teacher or supervisor counsels a student. Personal and
professional
role conflicts include sexual or romantic,
social, and
peer-like
relationships, such as occur when collaborating on
publications or
engaging in a shared pastime. The predatory
professional is a therapist
who exploits the therapeutic relationship to meet
personal needs rather
than client needs. Pearson and Piazza do not agree
that dual
relationships are inherently unethical, "Multiple
professional roles
such as advisor-instructor, supervisor-mentor,
counselor-advocate, and
others enhance our effectiveness as counselors and
educators. However,
risk of harm, or the perception of harm, seems to
increase as both
level of intimacy and power differential increase. In
addition, the
influence of the power differential is not always
obvious" (1997).
The ban and demonization of dual
relationships has come from an attempt to protect
the public from
exploiting therapists. Regretfully, it has emerged
as a simplistic
solution to a wide and complex problem. Even worse,
the ban on dual
relationships and the isolation it imposes on the
therapeutic encounter
tends to increase the chance of exploitation and
decrease the
effectiveness of treatment. It enables incompetent
therapists, to wield
their power without witnesses and accountability. In
addition it buys
into the general cultural trend towards isolation
and disconnection
(Zur, 2000).
Ofer Zur, one of the most outspoken
supporters of
the benefits of dual relationships, states that the term
"dual
relationship" has been used interchangeably with
"exploitation",
"harm", "abuse", "damage", and "sexual abuse" (1999). He
cautions us to
remember that neither dual relationships nor any
relationship with a
differential of power (i.e., parent-child,
teacher-student) are
inherently exploitative. (2000). Dr. Zur states that
behavioral,
cognitive, humanistic, and existential therapies do not
consider dual
relationships harmful, and that some therapies, like
Family Systems
therapy, rely on the inherent duality of relationships
that exists. He
recognizes that for some clients dual relationships
cause anxiety and
other difficulties, necessitating the need to consider
each dual
relationship on an individual basis. Dr. Zur developed
extensive
clinical recommendations to aid therapists in
negotiating boundaries
prior to entering a dual relationship, to help in
developing treatment
plans, and to ensure clinical integrity and
effectiveness (1999). Dr.
Zur finds dual relationships frequently aid the
therapeutic
relationship and outcome, "for the most part it has
significantly
increased my effectiveness, reduced the length of
treatment and
enhanced
my ability to care for my clients" (2000).
In a healthy society, people not
only admit
to, but celebrate their complex mutual reliance on
each other. The
more multiple relationships, the richer and more
profound the
individual experience. In a healthy society, the
witch doctor, the wise
elder, and the practical neighbor are all part of
the fabric of advice
and guidance, of physical and spiritual support. In
administering to
the needs of the members of a healthy society,
therefore, its healers,
rabbis, priests, or therapists will not shun dual
relationships, but
rather rely on them for the insight and intimate
knowledge that such
relationships provide (Zur, 1999).
Dual Relationships in rural and small
communities
In rural and small communities,
multiple
relationships are unavoidable and are not considered
inherently
unethical. (Brownlee, 1996; Schank and Skovolt, 1997).
"Due to the lack
of anonymity, rural psychologists are inherently
active participants in
the community. They have a more holistic view of
clients and must
balance the accepted and more easily defined single
role of an urban
setting versus the complexity of simultaneous
relationships in a rural
or small-community" (Schank and Skovolt, 1997). Schank
and Skovolt
(1997) published qualitative research produced through
interviews with
sixteen psychologists who live and practice in rural
areas and small
communities. All of the psychologists identify
dilemmas involving
professional boundaries as a significant concern.
Emerging themes
include the reality of overlapping social
relationships, the reality of
overlapping business relationships, the effects of
overlapping
relationships on members of the psychologist's own
family, and the
dilemmas of working with more than one family member
as clients or with
others who have friendship with individual clients.
All sixteen
therapists state that dual relationships are the most
frequent and
complicated of all ethical dilemmas that they face in
daily practice.
Three different criteria are cited by the
psychologists to make
decisions about whether to see a client when a dual
role exists. Some
psychologists use their own comfort level to gauge
whether they could
successfully manage the overlapping relationship. The
type and severity
of the clients' presenting problems is also used as an
indicator when
deciding to enter a dual relationship. Therapists are
more likely to
enter a dual relationship if the client is seeking
problem-solving and
would likely avoid a dual relationship with a client
if they suspected
a complex issue such as a personality disorder. Other
therapists
involve prospective clients in the decision-making
process to decide if
the benefits of entering into a dual relationship
outweigh the risk.
Schank and Skovolt conclude by suggesting safeguards
to minimize the
risks when entering into dual relationships which
include ongoing
consultation, setting clear expectations and
boundaries, informed
consent, documentation.
Keith Brownlee (1996) describes ethical
decision making models especially suitable for rural
therapists since
the complete avoidance of dual relationships is not a
realistic option.
"Pivotal to any decision making based on the codes,
are the two central
principles, impaired objectivity, and risk of
exploitation. Both of
these principles are very broad and the counselor is
left to judge for
him or herself what kind of relationship would qualify
as impairing
objectivity or increasing risk". He cites Kitchener's
ethical decision
making model which is based on role conflict, and
three variables
associated with increasing risk of harm. First, the
risk of harm
increases as the extent of incompatibility of
expectations between
roles
increase. Second, the risk of divided loyalties
increases and
objectivity decreases as the obligations associated
with each of the
roles diverge. Third, the risk of exploitation
increases as the
difference in prestige and power between the therapist
and client
increases.
Brownlee (1996) cites Gottleib's
ethical
decision making model, which is based on three
dimensions: power,
duration, and termination. The model recognizes that
relationships have
a power differential ranging from low to high (minimal
to profound
personal influence). Duration refers to the length of
therapy (brief or
long-term). Termination refers to whether a specific
time span for
therapy can be decided upon or whether the client is
likely to require
therapy for an indefinite period. Gottlieb's model
involves the
following five steps:
- Assess the current relationship
in
relation to power, duration, and termination.
- Assess future relationships in
relation
to power, duration, and termination.
- Counselor makes decision upon
the role
incompatibility of these relationships. Gottlieb
suggests a decision to
proceed with the dual relationships if the
relationship between
counselor and the client in question appears to be
mid-range to low in
power differential and conflict.
- Seek professional consultation
on
decision.
- Discuss the possible
ramifications that
could emerge from a dual relationship with the
potential client,
utilizing treatment contracts, and negotiation of
boundaries to aid in
making ethical decisions.
Dilemmas special to the practice of
clergy
psychotherapists
"The legacy of dual training,
insufficient
attention to professional ethics, as well as differing
role
expectations and professional socializations as clergy
and counselor
make it imperative for clergy psychotherapists to be
particularly
thoughtful about boundary issues in counseling" (Haug,
1999). "A 1994
report by the Maryland state regulatory board
indicated that 40% of the
psychologists accused of sexually inappropriate
behavior were also
ordained ministers."(as cited in Haug, 1999). Haug
states the power
differentials are particularly high for clergy
psychotherapists,
"Client's vulnerability might be heightened when they
consult clergy
psychotherapists. Due to the ministerial background of
clergy
therapists, clients may have exaggerated expectations
of their ethical
conduct and of the safety, if not 'sacredness', of the
counseling
relationship". Haug stresses the importance of
setting, communicating
and maintaining distinct boundaries in order to
maintain the integrity
of both roles,
Clergy psychotherapists who work
both as
pastors, priests, rabbis, and so forth, and as
therapists, face more
complexities negotiating what constitutes
appropriate behavior in which
context. It is crucial for counselors, particularly
clergy
psychotherapists, to ask themselves these questions:
Who will benefit
from this boundary crossing? Who really needs this
hug, this financial
advice, this get-together outside the counseling
room? What are the
possible negative, unintended consequences for
clients and those close
to them, for the public, and for the profession at
large? Am I
satisfying personal needs, for instance for
services, social contact,
self-revelation, financial stability, and so on,
that might and should
be met otherwise? Could this multiple relationship
be avoided? Am I
rationalizing away my concerns? Am I comfortable
having this course of
action made public?
Haug maintains that clergy are
particularly
vulnerable to unethical behavior due to their lack of
professional
ethics education, gender inequalities in some religions,
a tendency to
be idealized by the public, poorly defined job
descriptions and
expectations, and the expectation of warm and friendly
social
interactions. Haug identifies common boundary dilemmas
which include
non-sexual multiple relationships, sexual and sexualized
multiple
relationships, confidentiality issues, and issues
related to client
autonomy. Dr. Haug concludes with recommendations to
prevent abuse of
power and boundary violations which include ethics
education,
professional consultation with other clergy
psychotherapists, and
personal therapy. "Awareness of the differences in what
is expected and
deemed professional and ethical in the two professions,
however, is the
first step toward preventing a lapse in ethical conduct
and client
harm." (Haug, 1999)
Special problems encountered by
Wiccan
clergy psychotherapists
Dual relationship dilemmas faced by
Wiccan
clergy psychotherapists are similar to dilemmas
identified concerning
practice in small and rural communities, and by clergy
psychotherapists, but there are concerns and
complications specific to
practicing in Wiccan communities. The structure of
Wiccan community
consists of autonomous clergy serving and leading
autonomous covens.
Covens are small worshipping and teaching
congregations (generally
three to twenty persons). The larger Wiccan community
could include as
little as a handful to as large as a few thousand
members. In some
places the community expands to include the pagan
community, which is
comprised of countless magickal traditions, orders,
religions, and
autonomous individuals with little common ground.
"The dual nature of our covens makes
the
situation even more complex. They are not simply
worshipping
congregations, kept small to maintain personal
intimacy and spiritual
intensity. They are also, by tradition, the places
where we train and
develop our future clergy. This places the coven
leader in two roles
that are almost directly contradictory: mentoring and
evaluating"
(Harrow, 1996). "If you see coven as a support group
for the
psycho-spiritual healing and growth of the members,
which it is, then
the leader serves as facilitator, mentor and
counselor" (Harrow, 1996).
Harrow recommends that coven leaders meet their own
needs in other
social relationships, not through the coven. Harrow
points out that the
matter is further complicated because covens also
serve many Wiccans as
families of choice.
Oakwood, a non-clinical psychologist
and
Witch, commented that "given the hopefully intimate
relationships
inherent in covening, there might be a role conflict,
as there would be
in counseling one's best friend. However, I do not see
a role conflict
inherent in counseling someone the therapist is less
intimately related
to, for example, a member of the community at large,
or, in some
traditions, the outer court." (Oakwood, personal
communication, July
27, 2000). She recommends open discussion of
boundaries, "It should be
clear to the client that the counselor may be showing
up for rituals,
or even running them. If the client is not comfortable
with that from
the beginning, then you should not accept them as a
client. You should
choose that course rather than choosing to stay away
from a ritual you
would normally attend or run." Oakwood stresses that
radically altering
your life for the comfort of a client only leads to
resentments, which
will negatively impact the therapeutic experience.
"Running into your therapist in the
grocery
store, a restaurant, or even at the same political
demonstration is not
the same as encountering them in a ritual context,"
explains Cat
Chapin-Bishop, a psychotherapist and Wiccan priestess
(C.
Chapin-Bishop, personal communication, August 2,
2000). "Ritual
settings and Pagan gatherings tend to encourage
intimate connection.
Therapy too is intimate, but in a very different way:
for one thing, in
a therapy session, my clients have my undivided
attention. Coming into
a ritual setting where I am present, many of my Pagan
clients have
brought that expectation into the new setting--- after
all, all around
are people hugging, connecting, telling one another
deeply personal
stories. The setting (unlike a restaurant) conveys the
legitimacy of
pursuing connection, and the therapy has given rise to
the expectation
of how that intimacy 'should' feel." She continues,
"Undivided
attention rarely happens for anybody, but folks often
feel abandoned
and rejected when it is suddenly taken away, and in
ways that prove
very disruptive to the therapy afterwards." At this
time, she sees
Pagans and Wiccans in a pastoral setting but not a
psychotherapeutic
one.
Chapin-Bishop identified the importance
of the
type and severity of client presenting problems in
consideration of a
dual relationship, "Smoking cessation, behavioral
desensitization, or
short-term couples' counseling evoke very different
transferential
issues than long-term trauma and grief work." The
presence of clients
dealing with abuse issues at rituals she leads would
impede her
performance as a priestess. Wiccan clergy need to be
in a safe and
controlled space in order to perform the skills
required of their
ritual role, which can include trance possession by
deity, commonly
known in Wiccan circles as "Drawing Down the Moon".
Chapin-Bishop
expresses a need to minimize the role stress, "If I
therefore adopt a
detached, non-intimate stance toward my community and
my Gods, so that
I can manage the transferential issues of any clients
who are present,
I cheat myself of my main source of spiritual
nourishment."
Chapin-Bishop recognizes that clergy
therapists are idealized. "If you are in a dual wisdom
role, both the
all-powerful priestess and the all-compassionate
therapist, you're on
the pedestal before you even properly begin your
work." From her
viewpoint:
We are, as Pagan clergy, members of
our
communities in a way that Christian pastoral
counselors are not. Our
community and ritual structure favors intimacy and
connectedness, and
while many of our priests are talented and
charismatic, our pews do not
face forward. We don't favor group structures that
create the kind of
emotional detachment that would keep transferential
issues from
becoming noticeable. Quite the reverse: our drive
toward connection, as
whole persons, one member with another as equals,
tumbles us together
in ways that almost ensure that people's idealized
expectations will
meet with disillusionment. It's bad enough to be a
High Priestess who
is 'caught' yelling at her child. To be both Pagan
clergy and
psychotherapist to the same subject is to be at
ground zero for some
positively nuclear pyrotechnics.
Conclusions and Implications
The professional societies of the
helping
professions agree that sexual dual relationships
between therapists and
clients are unethical (AAMFT, 1991; AAPC, 1994; ACA,
1995; APA, 1992;
NASW, 1996). These codes agree that therapists should
not meet their
own needs through relationships with clients. The
AAMFT, ACA, APA, and
the NASW strongly caution therapists against
supervisory and evaluative
dual relationships with clients. As far as non-sexual
dual
relationships, the codes caution therapists to avoid
harmful and
exploitative dual relationships, and when
relationships cannot be
avoided they obligate he therapist to employ methods
to minimize harm.
Abuse of the power differential and
loss of
objectivity is at the heart of the risk of harm
(Brownlee, 1996, Haug,
1999; Pearson and Piazza, 1997, Pope & Vasquez,
1998). While far
from suggesting that all dual relationships are
beneficial, Ofer Zur
(1999, 2000) strongly supports the use of dual
relationships to enhance
the effectiveness of the therapeutic relationship and
minimize
exploitation. Brownlee (1996) and Schank and Skovolt
(1997) agree that
dual relationships are not inherently exploitative and
that they are
unavoidable in rural and small communities. Clergy
psychotherapists are
especially at risk of unethical behavior and face
complicated dilemmas
when entering into dual relationships (Haug, 1999).
There is strong
agreement in the literature that the therapist should
employ ethical
decision making models, professional consultation,
informed consent
through open discussion of benefits and ramifications,
and case
documentation in order to decide whether or not to
enter into a
specific
dual relationship, and to minimize risk when the
relationship is
avoidable or consensual (Brownlee, 1996; Haug, 1999;
Pearson &
Piazza, 1997; Schank & Skovolt, 1997, Zur, 1999;
Zur 2000).
Wiccan clergy psychotherapists appear
particularly vulnerable to ethical dilemmas caused by
dual
relationships. Complications unique to Wicca include
the intimacy
required of its clergy within the ritual context and
within their
covens. Covens serve not only as congregation, but
also as seminaries
and in some instances as family of choice. The lack of
professional
training for Wiccan clergy and the adolescent
development of Wiccan
ethics is a considerable problem. Wicca is a young
religion and has yet
to develop in these areas to the extent found in older
religions.
Ethical decision-making often relies on an intuitive
grasp of the
"Wiccan Rede", which states "An' it harm none, do as
ye will".
Wiccan clergy psychotherapists will
need to
ask themselves many questions in order to find their
own boundaries
concerning dual relationships. What type of
relationship does the
clergy therapist have the with Wiccan community? What
type of therapy
does the clergy therapist practice? Does the clergy
therapist meet
personal needs through their community membership or
are they isolated
from social contact with the community? How will the
therapeutic
relationship affect their family or coven members who
also live in the
community? Options for Wiccan clergy psychotherapists
include:
- Avoid dilemmas as much as possible
by not
seeing clients who are also Wiccan or Pagan. Cease
any therapeutic
relationship if client becomes as member of the
Wiccan and Pagan
community.
- Practice low power, short-term,
advice-oriented, solution-focused or pastoral
counseling within
community. Avoid high power, long-term
psychotherapeutic relationships.
- Practice deep psychotherapy with
community
members and negotiate each relationship on a
case-by-case basis. This
may necessitate that the therapist has less socially
intimate
relationships within the community. There may be a
need for therapists
to practice within their religion since some
prospective clients seek
out therapists of the same faith. I recommend that
Wiccan clergy
therapists avoid counseling coveners. The role
conflicts encountered in
this situation include existing teacher-student
relationships, and
possible familial relationships since covens foster
reliance and
intimacy in order to facilitate deep personal
spiritual work.
- When consciously entering into a
multiple
relationship, use the ethical decision making models
and guidelines
available (Brownlee, 1996; Zur, 1999). Employ
consultation and
supervision with other Wiccan clergy
psychotherapists, and with other
psychotherapists who are not also Wiccan clergy.
Openly discuss role
boundaries with clients, obtain informed consent,
and document the
agreements. Be aware of the reasons why you choose
to enter a dual
relationship.
I do not believe that dual relationships
are
inherently harmful. Personal experience has proven a
wealth of
opportunities for growth to exist within consensual dual
relationships.
As both clergy and future therapist, I am aware that
these waters can
be muddy and require careful navigation. For nineteen
years, I have
lived my life openly in the local Wiccan community. I
will not deny
myself the nourishment and intimacy I receive from my
spiritual family
and home. Due to the fact that I meet personal needs in
the Wiccan
community, and that I prefer to err on the side of
caution as I embark
on my career as a therapist, at this time I will
continue to function
as
a priestess and pastoral counselor and in the future
will likely avoid
most psychotherapeutic relationships in the Wiccan
community. As
counselor and clergy, my primary responsibility is to
respect the
dignity and promote the welfare of those that I serve.
As a human
being, I also have responsibilities to my own welfare.
Occasionally,
these obligations may conflict. I am thankful that my
dual training
provides me with exceptional resources and tools with
which to navigate
these waters.
References
American Association for Marriage and
Family
Therapy. (1991). AAMFT code of ethics.
Washington, D.C.: Author.
American Association of Pastoral
Counselors.
(1994). Code
of ethics.
Fairfax, VA: Author.
American Counseling Association.
(1995). Code
of
ethics and standards of practice.
Alexandria, VA: Author.
American Psychological Association.
(1992). Ethical
principles
for psychologists. Washington, D.C.:
Author.
Brownlee, K. (1996). Ethics in
community
mental health care: The ethics of non-sexual dual
relationships: A
dilemma for the rural mental health profession.
Community
Mental
Health Journal, 32(5), 497-503.
Harrow, J. (1996). The dual-role
dilemma.
Available: http://proteuscoven.com/counsel/dual.htm
Haug, I. (1999). Boundaries and the
Use
and Misuse of power and authority: Ethical
complexities for clergy
psychotherapists.Journal of Counseling &
Development,
77(4), 411-417.
National Association of Social Workers.
(1996). NASW
Code
of Ethics. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Pearson, B. & Piazza, N. (1997). Counselor
preparation:
Classification of dual relationships in the helping
professions. Counselor Education &
Supervision, 37(2),
89-99.
Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J.
(1998). Ethics
in psychotherapy and counseling (2nd
ed.). San
Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Schank, J. & Skovholt, T. (1997). Dual-relationship
dilemmas
of rural and small-community psychologists. Professional
Psychology:
Research & Practice, 28(1), 44-49.
Zur, O. (2000). In celebration of
dual
relationships. Available: http://www.division42.org/PublicArea/IPSpg00/Ethics/Zur.html.
Zur, O. (1999). The demonization of
dual
relationships.Independent Thinking Review,
Critical Thinking
About Psychology Series, Monograph #2. Oakland, CA:
Resources for
Independent Thinking.
|