Napier polytech counsellor had relationships with former clients | Stuff.co.nz

Napier polytech counsellor had relationships with former clients

A polytechnic counsellor who had relationships with two former patients behaved "unprofessionally and unethically", the deputy Health and Disability Commissioner says.

Stefan Thevessen was employed by a medical centre with the contract to provide counselling at Napier's Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT). He began a relationship with one woman two weeks after their counselling relationship ended in 2005, after he had counselled her eight times. 

Their personal relationship ended in around June 2006, at which time Thevessen began a personal relationship with another women, whom he had been counselling for three years. Their personal relationship began within a month of their last counselling session.

His relationship with the second woman ended in 2012. In late 2013 the women complained to the NZ Association of Counsellors. The association chose not to pursue a formal complaint against Thevessen after he resigned his membership of the association. Instead, the association referred the complaints to the Health and Disability Commission.

The women also complained to the medical centre that employed Thevessen and following an internal investigation he resigned in March last year.

The commission released a report on each patient's complaint this week, but did not identify Thevessen.

Deputy commissioner Theo Baker found that Thevessen had acted "unprofessionally and unethically by failing to maintain appropriate boundaries and engaging in a personal relationship" with the women.

Baker said the medical centre had been unaware of the relationships and was not liable for Thevessen's breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights. 

Baker noted that Thevessen had retired from practising and did not intend to return. She recommended he provide an undertaking to register immediately with the association if he recommence practising.

She had not recommended that he apologise to the women as both had advised the commission they did not want an apology.

One of the women, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she did not believe Thevessen should practice again.

"The other woman and I have become good friends since all of this started. We both say we'd never have had a relationship with him if we hadn't been so vulnerable when we saw him. It should never have happened. He's harmed enough people and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again," she said.

Thevessen said he knew he had erred and he was sorry.

"I have quit my job and quit my profession as a consequence [of my actions]. I have offered my apologies. I am still unemployed. I have accepted the verdict of HDC," he said.

"I accept responsibility. I have accepted the consequences and I have paid for it. I will never, ever work in any related profession again. I don't know what else I can do".

EIT said it had not employed Thevessen. He had worked for a medical centre that was contracted  to provide student health services that include counselling and nursing health professional services for 40 weeks a year.

 - Stuff