Inappropriate boundaries

In supervision we discussed a co-worker who admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a patient. Working with sex offenders who are charming and manipulative, this occurrence is more common than one might think. This population preys on people who have a weakness or vulnerability that they can exploit to their advantage. The group was understandably upset. There was shock, sadness, and anger. There was hostility toward this co-worker for damaging the reputation of the department, and there was also compassion and sympathy for this person and all the issues that contributed to this unfortunate end result. There was discussion on how to prevent this kind of thing from happening, and what we can do if we see a colleague getting into a similar situation. Mainly, it was important that it was brought up, and there was an opportunity for everyone to express their thoughts and feelings if they wanted to do so.