Clinical social worker Donald Gloege placed under supervision following inquiry into patient's sexual past

November 21, 2013

On August 3, 2013, the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board placed clinical social worker Donald Gloege on practice supervision for one year with terms and conditions.

The Board’s document states that during treatment of client which began in 2004, Gloege “pursued a detailed inquiry in to the client’s past and present sexual experiences, practices and functioning.”

The client asserted to the Board that she did not understand the therapeutic relevance of the questions; that they were based on Gloege’s personal sexual interest in her; that they were irrelevant and inappropriate; and served to lower her self-esteem and dignity.

Gloege asserted that the client felt this way due to her own transference. He further asserted that this line of questioning was based, in part, “on a therapeutic model that included explicit exploration of the client’s past sexual history….”

Gloege’s documentation however did not provide the necessary clinical foundation sufficient to support the therapeutic relevance of his sexual inquiry of the client.