Foreword
I have worked with many women who have been sexually exploited by prior therapists, while the therapy was ongoing. In every case, the sexual misconduct was damaging, set the woman’s recovery back, and made it very hard for her to trust other mental health professionals. In a number of malpractice cases in which I acted as an expert witness for the plaintiff, the therapist admitted to numerous extreme boundary violations including a long-term sexual relationship. In most these cases of sexual misconduct, the therapist has been male, but in quite a few the therapist has been female.
In my experience, sexual misconduct by a therapist never occurs in a vacuum. There are almost always numerous other types of boundary violations. These are often part of a grooming strategy during the recruitment phase of the relationship; they then create multiple forms of dependency and enmeshment that make it difficult to leave the perpetrator-therapist.
At my request, Bernadine Fox provided extensive documentation of the fact that she was a therapy client of Pamela Sleeth’s for a long period of time. Miscellaneous documents she provided included Sleeth’s obituary (10/3/50 – 11/16/14), travel photos, photos of Valentine’s cards, travel logs, and copies of registration at mental health conferences and at hotels she co-attended with Sleeth.
The core documents included a copy of correspondence back and forth between Ms. Fox and the BC Association of Clinical Counselors. The Association declined to investigate her complaint of sexual misconduct by Sleeth until a legal case between Fox and Sleeth was settled. However, the legal dispute was about Sleeth trying to get Fox removed from their joint title to their house – the legal dispute was itself evidence of boundary violations directly relevant to the complaint. In the end, the Association refused to investigate because Sleeth had retired.
In contrast to this bureaucratic betrayal and failure to protect the public by the BC Association of Clinical Counselors, on March 13, 2018, the BC Crime Victim’s Assistance fund advised Ms. Fox that they had concluded that she was a victim of sexual assault by Pamela Sleeth and was entitled to crime victim benefits.
Other documents I reviewed included: a Sleeth Power of Attorney giving power of attorney to Fox; a Sleeth Will naming Fox as Executrix along with Sleeth’s brother; a joint title to land they co-owned; a joint bank account statement; and a joint Vancouver Art Gallery membership.
I also reviewed statements by four individuals.
Ms. Fox’s daughter confirmed: seeing Sleeth and Fox cuddling on the couch many times during a long relationship; their taking many joint vacations; Sleeth attending numerous Fox family functions; Sleeth giving Fox’s daughter driving lessons; and many of the daughter’s friends assuming that Fox and Sleeth were a couple based on their observed behavior together.
Another witness who has an MA and an MSW stated that: Fox would spend periods of weeks at Sleeth’s cabin; that the two of them cared for Sleeth’s ailing mother; that they bought a home together; and that the witness saw them kissing.
A third witness described numerous boundary violations by Sleeth in her own therapy. Sleeth had acknowledged to her this had occurred with two others including Fox and that this had to be kept a secret. She was also informed that Sleeth was taking Fox to court to get her removed from the joint house title.
Bernadine Fox is doing other survivors of sexual misconduct by professionals a great service by telling her story. Such misconduct is not rare, whether the professional be a therapist, priest, doctor, camp counselor, gymnastics coach or a football coach. Telling such a story takes a lot of courage. Pamela Sleeth was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Her obituary lauds her for her many contributions to helping women survivors of sexual trauma. Now the full story is being told.
Colin A. Ross, M.D.
Richardson, Texas
I have worked with many women who have been sexually exploited by prior therapists, while the therapy was ongoing. In every case, the sexual misconduct was damaging, set the woman’s recovery back, and made it very hard for her to trust other mental health professionals. In a number of malpractice cases in which I acted as an expert witness for the plaintiff, the therapist admitted to numerous extreme boundary violations including a long-term sexual relationship. In most these cases of sexual misconduct, the therapist has been male, but in quite a few the therapist has been female.
In my experience, sexual misconduct by a therapist never occurs in a vacuum. There are almost always numerous other types of boundary violations. These are often part of a grooming strategy during the recruitment phase of the relationship; they then create multiple forms of dependency and enmeshment that make it difficult to leave the perpetrator-therapist.
At my request, Bernadine Fox provided extensive documentation of the fact that she was a therapy client of Pamela Sleeth’s for a long period of time. Miscellaneous documents she provided included Sleeth’s obituary (10/3/50 – 11/16/14), travel photos, photos of Valentine’s cards, travel logs, and copies of registration at mental health conferences and at hotels she co-attended with Sleeth.
The core documents included a copy of correspondence back and forth between Ms. Fox and the BC Association of Clinical Counselors. The Association declined to investigate her complaint of sexual misconduct by Sleeth until a legal case between Fox and Sleeth was settled. However, the legal dispute was about Sleeth trying to get Fox removed from their joint title to their house – the legal dispute was itself evidence of boundary violations directly relevant to the complaint. In the end, the Association refused to investigate because Sleeth had retired.
In contrast to this bureaucratic betrayal and failure to protect the public by the BC Association of Clinical Counselors, on March 13, 2018, the BC Crime Victim’s Assistance fund advised Ms. Fox that they had concluded that she was a victim of sexual assault by Pamela Sleeth and was entitled to crime victim benefits.
Other documents I reviewed included: a Sleeth Power of Attorney giving power of attorney to Fox; a Sleeth Will naming Fox as Executrix along with Sleeth’s brother; a joint title to land they co-owned; a joint bank account statement; and a joint Vancouver Art Gallery membership.
I also reviewed statements by four individuals.
Ms. Fox’s daughter confirmed: seeing Sleeth and Fox cuddling on the couch many times during a long relationship; their taking many joint vacations; Sleeth attending numerous Fox family functions; Sleeth giving Fox’s daughter driving lessons; and many of the daughter’s friends assuming that Fox and Sleeth were a couple based on their observed behavior together.
Another witness who has an MA and an MSW stated that: Fox would spend periods of weeks at Sleeth’s cabin; that the two of them cared for Sleeth’s ailing mother; that they bought a home together; and that the witness saw them kissing.
A third witness described numerous boundary violations by Sleeth in her own therapy. Sleeth had acknowledged to her this had occurred with two others including Fox and that this had to be kept a secret. She was also informed that Sleeth was taking Fox to court to get her removed from the joint house title.
Bernadine Fox is doing other survivors of sexual misconduct by professionals a great service by telling her story. Such misconduct is not rare, whether the professional be a therapist, priest, doctor, camp counselor, gymnastics coach or a football coach. Telling such a story takes a lot of courage. Pamela Sleeth was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Her obituary lauds her for her many contributions to helping women survivors of sexual trauma. Now the full story is being told.
Colin A. Ross, M.D.
Richardson, Texas
Dr. Colin Ross is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field of dissociation and trauma-related disorders. He is the founder and President of The Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma. He obtained his M.D. from the University of Alberta in 1981 and completed his training in psychiatry at the University of Manitoba in 1985. He has been running a hospital-based Trauma Program in Dallas, Texas since 1991. Dr. Ross's book, The Trauma Model: A Solution To the Problem of Comorbidity in Psychiatry, was first published in 2000, with a second edition appearing in 2007. Other books of his include: Trauma Model Therapy: A Treatment Approach for Trauma, Dissociation and Complex Comorbidity (2009), The C.I.A. Doctors: Human Rights Violations by American Psychiatrists (2006), Moon Shadows: Stories of Trauma & Recovery (2007), Structural Dissociation: A Proposed Modification of the Theory (2013), The Trump Card: A Psychiatrist Analyzes Reactions to Donald Trump (2017), Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder (2018), Be A Teammate With Yourself (2019), The Genetics of Schizophrenia (2020), and Opus 5 In B Flat And Other Poems (2020). Dr. Ross has authored 34 books and over 250 professional papers, has reviewed for numerous professional journals and grant agencies, and is a past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. He has appeared in a number of television documentaries and has published essays, aphorisms, poetry, short stories, and screenplays.
Bio taken from here
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Bio taken from here
More information here.
