Shrinks say sex with their patients is an "occupational hazard" they just have to deal with

As reported in the NY Post

Shrinks are now labeling sex with their patients an "occupational hazard."

On the heels of the popular HBO series "In Treatment," in which a handsome 50-year-old psychologist played by Gabriel Byrne falls for a gorgeous 30-year-old patient who reveals her love and lust for him, psychiatrists are airing their own dirty little secret.

About 12 percent of therapists admit to sexual contact with patients, and many who cross the line are "the last person we would expect," Dr. Glen Gabbard told a crowd at a recent Manhattan conference.

"We all have to practice as if this could happen to us - it's an occupational hazard to which we are all vulnerable," said Gabbard, a psychiatrist who treats peers for sexual misconduct.

The conference focused on the HBO show and "erotic transference," a Freudian phenomenon in which patients develop romantic feelings for their therapists.

Sex with patients is a felony in California and eight other states, but not in New York.

Sultry prison psychologist Magdalena Sanchez, 35, pleaded guilty this month to lying about having sex with a 29-year-old alleged Bloods gang member in the Brooklyn federal lockup. Sanchez, married to a Wall Street trader, was caught on tape in steamy cellphone conversations with the prisoner.

Kips Bay psychologist Mary Anastasiow, a 55-year-old married mom, had sex 10 times in her office and minivan with a smitten female patient distraught over her dead cat, Peaches.

"It was the most passionate kissing and hugging I have ever been involved in," patient Susan Yellin said of the writhing and "moaning" on the therapist's couch.

But when Anastasiow suddenly dumped her - as both a lover and a patient - Yellin was crushed. "I felt so deeply abandoned," she said.

Yellin sued and settled for a confidential sum. Anastasiow lost her license.