Fred’s University has been shaken by a harassment case against Professor Alvin Grope involving his late-night poetry “grooves,” “home office hours” and conference hotel “slumber parties.”
The harassment allegations themselves were not a surprise, Professor Grope had benefitted from a Pass The Harasser arrangement with a nearby college and was exchanged for an even worse harasser.
What has shaken the community is that harasser was given notes from one of his accuser’s therapy sessions without her consent. The notes also went to his entire legal team and the Fred’s University administrators smoothing over his case who read them aloud in the cafe where they have their usual Friday meetings.
These events would probably never have come to light if it were not for a similar case at Harvard University, which got considerable publicity, where a graduate student union organizer pursued a sexual harassment case only to have her therapy notes handed over to the professor who abused her.
Feeling that Fred’s University was not getting enough publicity, insiders made an attempt to spread the copycat story.
The news that private doctor’s notes were illegally made public caused widespread campus outrage that the millions of pages of paper on which patients sign HIPPA releases have all gone to waste (or landfill).
The violation of a patient’s HIPPA rights, the cruel treatment of a victim of sexual harassment, and the obvious university conspiracy to intimidate the victim also came to the attention of Professor Grope’s now-estranged wife.
In an attempt to gather fodder for her divorce case, the outraged spouse forged his signature on a HIPPA release, obtained the notes from Professor Grope’s own therapy sessions, and leaked the graduate student victim to the community at large.
Ms. Grope gleefully noted that the issues raised in the notes closely mirror the known psychological profile of abusers and show him to be as annoying in therapy as he was at home.
Notes of Dr. REDACTED NAME PhD on patient Professor Alvin Grope
Displays grandiosity.
Patient believes “most/all” of his students are in love with him. Brags studying with him is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for graduate students and a great gift he can bestow on them.
Exhibits limited empathy.
Patient fantasies about “nubile” graduate students. Seems indifferent to student with cancer whom he describes as “super hot even on chemo.”
Poor impulse control.
Throughout sessions, the patient repeatedly got up and touched items around the office even when asked not to. On one occasion, the patient took the therapist’s overcoat, which was hanging on the office door, stroked it, and put his hands suggestively in the pockets until it was forcibly taken away.
Strong defense mechanisms, especially disavowal.
Ruminating on past accusations of harassment (going back decades) the patient obsessively returns to descriptions of the “skimpy” and “enticing” “jail bait” outfits of his accusers. In one session, the patient took out his phone to look up past accusers, attempted to find them on Tinder, but gave up in frustration when he couldn’t make the app work as he wanted.
Need for admiration/affirmation.
On multiple occasions patient asked therapist if he was “the best” patient and if he was “the most interesting case.” Patient expressed interest in being a case study and said that he knew he was the “therapist’s pet.”
Omnipotence
Noted lack of concern for possible consequences of sexual harassment case against him based on the belief that he is too important to Fred’s University to be fired. Also commented that the provost “thinks he is hot,” and “flirts with him all the time,” so he is sure he won’t get in any serious trouble with her.
Machiavellianism
Patient repeatedly asked about the clinical definition of “sex addiction” and seemed eager to be given the diagnosis, which he thought would be “fun,” “cool,” and “appealing to women.” When he was denied the diagnosis, it emerged patient thought being considered a sex addict would be “a great excuse for anything.”
Buried Sense of Inadequacy
Narcissistic wound inflicted by an uncaring father preoccupies the patient. Father was a “ladies’ man” and patient hopes to impress him with his own sexual prowess. Patient suffers from an underlying loneliness, sense of inferiority and self-hatred that manifests in bubbling eczema just above his shirt sleeves and pant hems.
When experiencing particularly acute anxiety, for example when discussing the fate of his university pension, patient places hand under cuffs to itch skin.
Patient worries that his skin problems are spreading to his penis and asked if the therapist could look at it to check.
At end of final session, patient began to joke about his red hands and how funny it was given that he was caught sexually harassing students. “Caught red-handed! Write that down! Are you writing that down? You can’t make this stuff up.”
Watch The Video: How Not To Harass Your Students