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Most relationships between a health care practitioner
and a patient are respectful, professional, and well-
bounded. But doctor-patient relationships can be
challenging.
Your physician is close to you in ways that other
people aren't ­ she examines your body closely, touches
areas no one else touches, causes pain and discomfort,
explores areas of your body and psyche that nobody else
can. And people with alternative sexualities are often
concerned ­ occasionally with cause ­ that their sexuality
may make them vulnerable to improper treatment by an
unscrupulous physician.
On the other hand, some patients exhibit remarkably
bad boundaries with their physicians. One of my S/M-
identified female patients responded to every question
with a "yes sir" or "no sir" until I firmly told her to stop,
and another actually requested that I masturbate her
What If
It Goes Wrong?
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