--- title: "Clinical summary: Client Attraction to Therapists" description: The director of the Psychotherapy Practice Research Network (PPRNet) is Dr. Giorgio Tasca. Dr. Tasca is an Associate Professor with the School of Psychology, in the Faculty of Social, University of Ottawa. His research focus is on psychotherapy process, mechanisms of change, and outcomes, as well as eating disorders. image: https://collabzium.com/hubfs/George%20Tasca-2.jpg --- [![FAC_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_HEADER_BAR](https://collabzium.com/hubfs/FAC_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_HEADER_BAR.svg "FAC_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_HEADER_BAR")](https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/) [![Collabzium](https://collabzium.com/hubfs/CollabziumLogoEnglish(Name)-COLOUR.svg "Collabzium")](https://collabzium.com/) - Articles - [Collabzium Guide](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/author/collabzium-guide) - [All articles](https://collabzium.com/en/articles) - Research - [Chairs and Labs](https://collabzium.com/en/chair-and-labs) - [About](https://collabzium.com/collabcrew) [Subscribe](https://20500402.hubspotpagebuilder.com/subscribe-now) [Subscribe](https://20500402.hubspotpagebuilder.com/subscribe-now) [PPRNET](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/tag/pprnet) # Clinical summary: Client Attraction to Therapists [Dr. Giorgio Tasca](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/author/dr-giorgio-tasca) calendar icon Jul 02, 2025 · Reading time 2 min read [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) Over half of mental health providers reported that their clients expressed some level of romantic or sexual [attraction](https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22069?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8cFCvnssNaJ3XaNBfbUdrDFBieTVEV2N1AcNv5M4i9YM9RklJ4xfBskg3ivG0v_QfDhS2Fts3sWln7pqvFYaGYYCFmAw&_hsmi=2) to them. Much of the clinical writing on the topic has conceptualized client attraction to therapists in terms of defence mechanisms and the role of client [transferences](https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1002/jclp.1065?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8cFCvnssNaJ3XaNBfbUdrDFBieTVEV2N1AcNv5M4i9YM9RklJ4xfBskg3ivG0v_QfDhS2Fts3sWln7pqvFYaGYYCFmAw&_hsmi=2) to therapists (displacement or projection of needs from an attachment figure onto the therapist). There is very little research on therapists’ experiences of clients expressing attraction to them, which could inform clinical practice, supervision, or training. In this study, Rabasco and colleagues surveyed 205 mental health providers (33% trainees). They asked open-ended questions about clients expressing attraction, the therapists’ reactions, and their experiences in seeking supervision or consultation. The average age of the psychotherapists was 36.74 years (SD = 10.55), 73% were White, 74% were women, and 87% reported practicing some form of CBT, although most practiced from a mixture of orientations. The average percentage of their work week providing clinical services was 50.12%, with the most common practice setting being private practice. Forty-four percent of therapists (n = 111) reported that they had at least one client disclose romantic or sexual feelings for them (average of 2.80 instances (SD = 2.29) per therapist). There were no differences across therapist gender, age, sexual orientation, or therapy orientation between those who experienced a client disclosing attraction and those who did not. The most common feelings therapists experienced were anxiety, fear, and confusion. The most common indirect disclosure by clients was admiration (10% of therapists), and the most common direct disclosure was sharing physical attraction (18%). Therapists employed a variety of approaches to address client disclosures, including validation and understanding (21%), normalizing (17%), clarifying boundaries (36%), and reminding clients of ethical principles (9%). Therapists also explored clients’ feelings (16%) and incorporated the situation into their case conceptualization of the client’s problems (14%). Commonly, therapists conceptualized the disclosure as the client conflating an empathic, supportive, collaborative therapeutic relationship with romantic or sexual attraction. Therapists reported that supervision tended to focus on how to handle the situation (27%), reviewing what happened (18%), and processing their own emotions (8%). Some therapists (5%) found supervision insufficient to help them work with the situation or understand their feelings. ### Practice Implications Clients disclosing attraction to therapists appears to be common, with about half of the therapists having had this experience. Training programs rarely address this issue, and therapists sometimes fail to disclose it to their supervisors or colleagues. Therapists would do well to find a trusted colleague to talk about the disclosure and how to manage it. Therapists can incorporate a client’s attraction into the therapeutic case formulation to help better understand and contextualize the experience and the client. Supervisors and consultants need to provide space for therapists to discuss their emotional reactions and validate the therapist’s experience, while keeping the client’s clinical care at the center. > Rabasco, A., Jessup, S.C., Mariaskin, A., & McKay, D. (2025). Client attraction to therapists: A mixed methods study of therapist experiences. *Journal of Clinical Psychology, 81*, 595-608. [https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23795](https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23795?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8cFCvnssNaJ3XaNBfbUdrDFBieTVEV2N1AcNv5M4i9YM9RklJ4xfBskg3ivG0v_QfDhS2Fts3sWln7pqvFYaGYYCFmAw&_hsmi=2).  To learn more about the Psychotherapy Practice Research Network, visit [www.pprnet.ca](https://collabzium.com/en/psychotherapy-practice-research-network).   calendar icon Jul 02, 2025 · Reading time 2 min read [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-client-attraction-to-therapists&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) --- ### [By Dr. Giorgio Tasca](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/author/dr-giorgio-tasca) The director of the Psychotherapy Practice Research Network (PPRNet) is Dr. Giorgio Tasca. Dr. Tasca is an Associate Professor with the School of Psychology, in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. His research is centered around psychotherapy process, mechanisms of change, and outcomes, as well as eating disorders. ## Also Read - [PPRNet Clinical summary: 1.Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Social Anxiety Disorder](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-1.short-term-psychodynamic-psychotherapy-for-social-anxiety-disorder) - [PPRNet Clinical summary: Defense Mechanisms and Change in Psychotherapy](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-defense-mechanisms-and-change-in-psychotherapy) - [PPRNet Clinical summary: 2. 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