Psychologist in Sex, Negligence Case Surrenders License

Accused of sexual misconduct and gross negligence in the treatment of eight female patients, San Diego psychologist Charles Hansen has agreed to surrender his license to practice in California.

In graphic detail, eight women alleged abuses that included having sex with Hansen during therapy sessions, as well as being drugged and forced to have sex, according to court documents.

Hansen’s attorney, Pamela Ann Thatcher, said her client admitted to gross negligence in treatment of his patients but denied any sexual misconduct. In a prehearing brief, Hansen attributed some of his behavior to drug abuse.

“There was no admission as to any sexual misconduct by way of surrender (of the license)--the admission was to gross negligence in treatment of clients,” said Thatcher.

She added that Hansen decided to give up his license because “he did not want to put the claimants through the trauma of a hearing.”

Deputy Atty. Gen. Sanford Feldman said the case could not be discussed until the Medical Board approves a formal agreement with Hansen.

Five of the women said they had sought treatment with Hansen because of marital problems, according to an accusation filed by the attorney general’s office. Several also said they had been sexually or physically abused as children--an experience that would make them “the most vulnerable of prey,” said one source familiar with the case.

“He’d say sex with therapists is OK in a lot of situations,” one former patient said. “He was really interested in my sexual abuse history.”

“I feel his misguided and exploitative behavior has left me with bad scars,” another woman said during an interview. “All I can say is that I believe this was staged, deliberate, and that he knew exactly what he was doing.”

Statewide, half of all complaints filed against psychologists involve claims that they had sex with patients, said Janie Cordray, spokeswoman for the Medical Board of California.

Since August, there have been eight decisions and seven accusations filed by the Medical Board’s Board of Psychology against California therapists for sexual misconduct. The Medical Board conducts investigations for the Board of Psychology.

In Hansen’s case, six women sued for medical malpractice and reached out-of-court settlements, which stipulated that they cannot discuss their cases. The complaints against Hansen, filed last year and as recently as two weeks ago, all spring from incidents that allegedly occurred between 1977 and 1984.

Because victims are often reluctant to come forward and because it can take a long time for them to understand that a therapist’s overtures were inappropriate, sexual misconduct cases can take years to surface, said Cordray of the Medical Board.