Professional abuse

Professional abusers are the individuals that prey on the weaknesses of others in their workplaces or in other places related to economical strands of society. Their fundamental behavior is based in the following actions:

• taking advantage of their client or patient's trust
• exploiting their vulnerability
• not acting in their best interests
• failing to keep professional boundaries

There are many forms of abuse. It may be:

• discriminatory
• financial
• physical
• psychological
• sexual

Professional abuse always involves:

• betrayal
• exploitation
• violation of professional boundaries

Professionals can abuse in three ways:

• nonfeasance - ignore and take no indicated action - neglect.
• misfeasance - take inappropriate action or give intentionally incorrect advice.
• malfeasance - hostile, aggressive action taken to injure the client's interests.

See also

• Abuse
• Abuse of power
• Harold Shipman
• Institutional abuse
• Medical abuse
• Patient abuse
• Professional
• Professional conduct
• Professional ethics
• Professional negligence in English Law
• Professional responsibility

Further reading

Books

• Dorpat TL Gaslighting, the Double Whammy, Interrogation and Other Methods of Covert Control in Psychotherapy and Analysis (1996)
• Penfold, PS Sexual Abuse by Health Professionals: A Personal Search for Meaning and Healing (1998)
• Peterson MR At Personal Risk: Boundary Violations in Professional-Client Relationships (1992)
• Richardson S Cunningham M Broken Boundaries - stories of betrayal in relationships of care (2008)
• Sheehan MJ Eliminating professional abuse by managers - Chapter 12 of Bullying: from backyard to boardroom (1996)

Academic papers

• Blunden, Frances; Nash, Jo (1999). "Tackling abuse of patients and clients - the work of POPAN". The Journal of Adult Protection 1: 42. doi:10.1108/14668203199900009. 
• Britton, Ann Hartwell (1988). "Sexual Abuse in the Professional Relationship". Hamline Law Review 11: 247–80. 
• Khele, Suky; Symons, Clare; Wheeler, Sue (2008). "An analysis of complaints to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1996–2006". Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 8 (2): 124. doi:10.1080/14733140802051408. 
• Kumar, Shailesh (2000). "Client Empowerment in Psychiatry and the Professional Abuse of Clients: Where Do We Stand?". The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 30 (1): 61–70. doi:10.2190/AC9N-YTLE-B639-M3P4. PMID 10900561. 
• Namore, AH; Floyd, A (Oct 2005). "Teachers taking professional abuse from principals: Practice that's so bad it must violate a school's core values". Education Digest 71 (2): 44–9. 
• Polier, HJ (1975). "Professional abuse of children: Responsibility for the delivery of services". American journal of orthopsychiatry 45 (3): 357–62. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1975.tb02546.x. PMID 1146968.