MARRIAGE COUNSELOR HIT WITH SUIT DUO SAY RELATIONSHIP SUFFERED.Byline: Howard Breuer Staff Writer PASADENA - A Glendale couple has filed suit against their former marriage counselor, who was convicted last month of sleeping with female clients. The lawsuit filed by Peter and Suzanne Sternlicht claims that therapist Sami H. Alexander, 45, of Pasadena worsened their marital problems by groping grope v. groped, grop·ing, gropes v.intr. 1. To reach about uncertainly; feel one's way: groped for the telephone. 2. Suzanne and saying his client was ``starved for love.'' ``Had (Suzanne) known that Alexander had been conducting an intentional campaign to destroy her marriage and seduce her for his own sexual gratification, she would never have allowed him to touch her,'' the lawsuit says. Unlike other clients of Alexander who complained to the Pasadena Police Department The Pasadena Police Department is the police department serving Pasadena, California The headquarters of the Pasadena Police Department is located at 207 North Garfield Avenue in Pasadena, just a few blocks from the Pasadena City Hall and Paseo Colorado. and the state Board of Behavioral Sciences behavioral sciences, n.pl those sciences devoted to the study of human and animal behavior. , the Sternlichts are still married, and Suzanne didn't become romantically involved with Alexander. The Sternlichts' attorney said the couple was disappointed with Alexander's sentence last month of restitution and 40 days of trash pickup along the freeway - his sentence for pleading guilty to two felony counts of having sex with patients. ``We haven't received an apology from him, and we are now even more motivated by the fact that he has received such light punishment,'' said Glendale attorney John E. Tiedt. Alexander's civil attorney did not return calls seeking comment. His criminal attorney recently said his client is sorry for his behavior and has been punished enough. To settle charges brought by the state Board of Behavioral Sciences, Alexander has surrendered his counseling license and repaid $13,600 in investigative fees. ``He's a man who's no longer practicing, who's trying to make his peace with the system,'' said Rickard Santwier. Alexander also faces a civil lawsuit filed by the ex-husband of a Pasadena woman, claiming professional negligence professional negligence n. See malpractice. and infliction in·flic·tion n. 1. The act or process of imposing or meting out something unpleasant. 2. Something, such as punishment, that is inflicted. Noun 1. of emotional distress emotional distress n. an increasingly popular basis for a claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awardable in conjunction with damages for actual physical harm. . The Sternlichts' suit claims professional negligence, sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. , sexual battery, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. . The couple began seeing Alexander in October 1994, seeking help with their marriage. After several months, the lawsuit says, Alexander set out to ``divide and conquer'' with individual counseling sessions. To Peter, he called Suzanne a pit bull with a personality disorder personality disorder Mental disorder that is marked by deeply ingrained and lasting patterns of inflexible, maladaptive, or antisocial behaviour to the degree that an individual's social or occupational functioning is impaired. . Alone with Suzanne, he said Peter was an ``incurable narcissist'' who was causing their problems. He also told Suzanne that she was beautiful and that he was sexually attracted to her, the complaint says. ``At the end of each session, he would hug Mrs. Sternlicht, and his hugging became more sexual in nature,'' the lawsuit says. ``At one session, Alexander told Mrs. Sternlicht that he was having difficulty providing her with counseling and therapy services because he was too turned on,'' the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says the couple didn't realize how egregious Alexander's behavior was until they read about his prosecution. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sami H. Alexander Subject of lawsuit |
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