The senior therapist's grandiosity: Clinical and ethical consequences of merging multiple roles

Grandiose senior therapists who knowingly foster treatment relationships that run counter to the wisdom and ethics of the field of psychotherapy can do harm to their patients. When practitioners merge the boundaries of treatment they simultaneously violate professional ethical codes and violate the frame of the analysis. Multiple role relationships often exploit patients' dependency while gratifying the narcissism of the senior therapist. The focus of this paper will be to explore the motivation and personality of senior therapists who are socially involved with their patients. The convergence of ethical and clinical problems related to multiple role relationships will be addressed also. Professionals may be able to resolve the problem through group process.