Psychologist Anna Stevens has had her registration cancelled for two years. Photo: iStock/Motortion.
A NSW psychologist was “aware and cognisant” of the power imbalance between her and a patient with whom she had an improper relationship.
The victim, known as Patient A, started seeing psychologist Anna Stevens in July 2019 when he was referred to her for treatment for PTSD, and they had sessions until early 2023.
Region is unable to name the town for legal reasons.
The Health Care Complaints Commission brought two complaints against her, alleging unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct.
In a recently published decision, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) found her guilty on both counts. The tribunal cancelled her registration and set a non-review period of two years.
The four-judge panel found that there were multiple opportunities for Ms Stevens to seek professional guidance and to transfer the man to another practitioner.
“She knowingly fostered and pursued a personal relationship despite being aware that Patient A was particularly vulnerable when he first attended for treatment,” the judges said.
“As an experienced practitioner, she had to be aware and cognisant of the existence of the power relationship between her as the health practitioner and Patient A as the patient.”
According to the decision, Ms Stevens’ earlier sessions with Patient A were held at a specialist centre.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she started holding sessions at her home office.
From February 2021, Ms Stevens began texting him from her personal phone.
She sent photographs of herself, suggested that she travel to meet the victim on their work trips and sent multiple “flirtatious and sexually suggestive” messages. These included saying that “I’d rather see u tbh” when she had to reschedule one of his appointments, while she also wrote that “this connection we have is very scary” at another time.
One of the images from her was of a bag from a lingerie shop alongside a message reading: “Uh ohh [Smiling Devil with Horns emoji]… hows ur day going?”
He also claimed that, during sessions at her home, they kissed and she discussed her personal life.
In her account of events, Ms Stevens said Patient A “became increasingly flirtatious” and would comment on her appearance, the decision states.
She also denied that any sexual relationship existed between them.
“While the sexual connotations in some text messages reflect very poorly on Ms Stevens they are not evidence of the existence of a sexual relationship,” the tribunal said.
In early 2023, the victim told a different psychologist about his relationship with Ms Stevens.
This psychologist told him to end the relationship, and he would text her this the following day.
A clinical psychologist who assessed Ms Stevens during the proceedings found that she had failed to maintain proper boundaries and had shown a lack of awareness around transference.
“[That expert] was also critical of Ms Stevens’ failure to take any steps to address or correct the blurring of boundaries but rather continued to shift the therapeutic relationship into a personal relationship,” the panel said.
This psychologist also found that while a psychologist sometimes needs to communicate with clients outside sessions, Ms Stevens’ behaviour moved outside any clinical framework.
“[The expert also] concluded that other conduct by Ms Stevens in suggesting to Patient A that they meet and go for walks together, viewing the online Honey Birdette retail store with Patient A, sending Patient A photos of herself and Honey Birdette shopping bags all fell significantly below what is reasonable of a practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience.”
In her evidence to NCAT, she said the relationship developed amid the death of her father and as she took on caring for a family member.
“She accepts that certain aspects of her interactions with Patient A constituted an inappropriately close personal relationship,” the decision states.
Ms Stevens also told the tribunal that she had given him her personal phone to make post-therapy follow-ups easier, but she now recognised this as a judgment error.
The tribunal cancelled her registration and set a non-review period of two years.
Ms Stevens was also ordered to pay the costs for the Health Care Complaints Commission.
According to the decision, Ms Stevens was first registered as a psychologist in December 1999.
She holds multiple degrees from the University of Canberra and the Australian National University.
If this story has raised any issues for you, you can call Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line on 13 11 14. In an emergency, phone triple zero.
