Psychologist banned for sex with ‘profoundly vulnerable’ patient breaks silence when the Mail arrives on her doorstep: ‘So much more to it’
An Adelaide psychologist, Catherine Alice Soukoulis, has been banned from reapplying for registration for two years after a tribunal found she engaged in a sexual relationship with a "profoundly vulnerable" former patient, describing her conduct as professional misconduct. The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled that Soukoulis exploited the power imbalance between herself and the man, who had disclosed a recent suicide attempt during his final therapy session before moving into her spare room and beginning an intimate relationship with her.
The patient, who suffered from anxiety, depression and PTSD, had undergone 32 treatment sessions with Soukoulis between March 2017 and January 2019; sexual contact with former clients within two years of ending treatment is prohibited due to exploitation risks. The tribunal found her clinical care and risk assessment inadequate, and said she took on the conflicting roles of friend, carer and lover without arranging proper support for him. Soukoulis self-reported the relationship to health regulator AHPRA after learning it had already been disclosed to a GP, and argued there had been "extenuating circumstances". When approached by a reporter at her home, she said she remained in contact with the man, called him "the real victim", and hinted at writing a book, saying "there is so much more to this."
- Psychologist banned two years over sexual relationship with vulnerable ex-patient
- Tribunal ruled the conduct was exploitative and constituted professional misconduct
- Woman broke silence to reporter, calling patient "the real victim"
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Adelaide psychologist Catherine Alice Soukoulis has been stripped of her registration for two years after South Australia's civil and administrative tribunal found she began a sexual relationship with a former patient shortly after his therapy with her ended. The tribunal found this breached rules that exist specifically to protect people who have recently been in therapy, since a former patient can still be emotionally dependent on, and unable to challenge, the person who treated them.
The man involved had been treated by Soukoulis over dozens of sessions for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and had disclosed a recent suicide attempt in his final appointment before the relationship began. Professional guidelines in Australia bar psychologists from sexual involvement with former clients for a set period after treatment ends, precisely because of the risk that the earlier therapeutic relationship could be exploited.
Cases like this typically involve a regulator, in this instance the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), which oversees registered health professionals and can refer serious complaints to a tribunal. Such rulings matter because they test how professional bodies enforce boundaries meant to protect vulnerable patients, and because the psychologist's own account of events has become part of the public discussion following the tribunal's findings.