Utah therapist convinced ‘vulnerable’ patient to strip down and do handstands in front of him under ‘guise of’ counseling, authorities say
A mental health counselor in Provo, Utah, was arrested after two of his clients accused him of pressuring them to strip off their clothes and, in one case, do handstands, all justified as therapy.
One of the accusers told police that Shawn Talbot, 55, “used the guise of metal health therapy” on several occasions to convince her to take her shirt and her bra off, or on other occasions to pull up her shirt, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, citing an affidavit.
The therapist allegedly justified the untoward requests as “necessary to show the victim could be ‘vulnerable,'” according to court documents.
The woman told police that Talbot allegedly convinced her to do “handstands in front of him” after taking off her bra and untucking her shirt.
A second woman reported Talbot to the police. She said that he had asked her to bend over in front of him, which essentially allowed her shirt to droop low and expose her chest and breasts, according to a probable cause statement.
Police arrested Talbot on suspicion three counts of misdemeanor voyeurism. He was released the same day he was arrested.
Alyssa Wood, who is representing the two women, said they showed “extraordinary courage in coming forward.”
“Therapists hold a position of profound responsibility and are entrusted with the care and well-being of their patients. When that trust is violated, the harm is devastating,” Wood told the Salt Lake Tribune.
Police believe there may be other potential victims. They’ve asked that anyone else who was allegedly subjected to such requests by Talbot to come forward and speak to the police.
In a probable cause statement, investigators noted that Talbot did not deny any of the allegations levied against him. He insisted they were intended to be helpful as “these actions took place in a therapeutic practice” and were “meant to empower [the victims].”
He insisted there was no sexual component to the treatments, but allegedly told police he knew that “what he did was not right” and that he “recognized the harm” he caused.
The probable cause statement also noted that Talbot was fired from his job at Utah Valley Counseling on June 30 following an unrelated sexual abuse allegation and multiple complaints of sexual harassment from his female coworkers.
The Salt Lake Tribune examined Talbot’s licensure and found that even after his firing, his license remains active on state websites and no disciplinary actions are attached to his name.
Talbot has been accused of inappropriate conduct with clients before this incident. Similar allegations to the current ones were made against him in 2020 but by underage girls at a residential mental health facility, according to Provo police.
The therapist is going to court over that alleged incident as well. A lawsuit targeting him and his employer at that time, Alpine Academy in Tooele County, alleges that Talbot had “sexually graphic” conversations with a child during his time there. Other allegations police discovered relating to his 2020 mental health work include claims that he’d subject underage girls to various “trust exercises” like asking them to lift their shirts up as high as they felt comfortable.
Talbot’s attorneys have denied the allegations. Alpine Academy has attempted to have itself removed from the lawsuit, but that request was denied.
