Time-out: San Diego mayor takes 2-week leave for therapy amid sex harassment allegations

SAN DIEGO ? Therapists say admitting one has a problem is the first step toward recovery. For San Diego Mayor Bob Filner that could be tricky.

The first-term mayor and former congressman starts two weeks of intensive therapy Monday while facing a sexual harassment lawsuit and calls for his resignation amid a flurry of allegations that he groped women for years.

Even as he undergoes treatment, Filner is set to be grilled by lawyers under oath this week in a lawsuit brought by his former communications director that claims he asked her to work without panties, told her he wanted to see her naked and dragged her around in a headlock while whispering in her ear.

Neither Filner nor his office has released details about his therapy or its location. Filner is picking up the tab for the treatment.

Filner's accusers, his one-time supporters and voters have expressed skepticism that any two-week program is an appropriate remedy for what Filner himself has described as years of inappropriate behavior toward women. Longtime therapists also questioned how much progress could be made.

"It is pie-in-the-sky to think that in two weeks anyone could be a new man," said Helen Friedman, a St. Louis psychologist who has treated compulsive sexual behavior for 30 years, though she said it was a good start.

Success will depend on how far the 70-year-old Filner goes in acknowledging his problems, experts said.

"Typically in the first few sessions you have to find someone you really trust," said Lilli Friedland, a Beverly Hills psychologist who advises business executives on sexual harassment. "'Can I open up with all my dirty laundry, and is this person expert enough?' It takes a number of sessions and visits to establish that trust."

Some voters wondered whether the therapy stint was simply an effort to buy time amid extraordinary pressure to resign.

"He needs to save face," said Christina Imhoof, 72, who voted for Filner in November but then quit the Democratic Party over the allegations. She said she suspects Filner will return after the time-out and say his therapist has encouraged him to resign for medical reasons.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/politics/218276991.html

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