Sex, Lies and Training Programs: The Ethics of Consensual Sexual Relationships between Psychiatrists and Trainee Psychiatrists

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to chart the ethical territory surrounding the issue of consensual sexual relationships between psychiatrists and doctors training in psychiatry. METHOD: The arguments for and against the prohibition of such relationships are critically examined both in general and in a number of specific circumstances. RESULTS: There should not be a general prohibition against such relationships, but a prohibition should apply in certain special circumstances. Such circumstances include occasions when the psychiatrist is currently supervising the trainee, when a particular psychiatrist has repeated sexual relationships with trainees and when a group of psychiatrists voluntarily pledge to abstain from such relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Institutions involved in psychiatric training should develop guidelines for dealing with such relationships, adopting a generally permissive attitude toward them with clear exceptions in special cases.