What is Couples Therapy Worth?
By Derron Santin on July 7, 2010
Over dinner recently, my friend’s wife described her experience with her EAP (Employee Assistance Program) counselor, which has not been good. Typically, an employer will approve an employee for up to six visits, from within their selected pool, with a licensed clinician. It’s a wise move on the employer’s part: unhappy people make for unproductive employees. But there are limitations. My friend told me that this therapist fell asleep on her, and excused it on a heavy lunch. Her therapist makes frequent mention of other clients, though not directly by name (yet since her workplace is small, my friend was able to discern who her fellow clients were). She mentioned a number of things her therapist said that spoke of poor boundaries. Being new to therapy, my friend wondered if this was normal behavior from a therapist. As much as I like to allow people to make their own informed, empowered decisions, I was struggling to remain in my seat. This therapist’s behavior was unprofessional, inappropriate, and unethical, for starters. I was sorry this had been my friend’s introduction to therapy, and promissed her it could, and should, be something entirely different.