Identifying and reducing risk factors related to trainee-client sexual misconduct

Sexual misconduct involving therapists-in-training and their clients is add ressed. Personal and situational factors that may constitute risk factors f or the development of inappropriate sexual activity between trainees and th eir clients are identified. Although there may be certain characteristics t hat put particular students at risk for such involvement, the authors belie ve this risk is more strongly related to systemic, programmatic, and pedago gic characteristics of the environments in which students train. Examples i nclude, respectively, the decline of concern-over transference and countert ransference, failure to include education about client-therapist sexual att raction and the consequences of sexual misconduct in graduate psychology cu rricula, and the reluctance of supervisors to deal straightforwardly with t rainees' sexual feelings. Suggestions for reducing risks for client-therapi st sexual misconduct are directed toward these situational factors.