Clinical psychologist Dr Annemarie Dalhuijsen-Bendijk recorded herself in bed stroking the woman’s hair with her hand and her leg with a feather, a tribunal heard. But Dr Dalhuijsen-Bendijk said she was merely pursuing “artistic goals” and they were wearing the underwear as costumes. The misconduct hearing was told Dr Dalhuijsen-Bendijk also met her patient for lunch, visited her at her parents’ house and went with her to an art gallery.

       However, the Health and Care Professions Tribunal panel ruled that while her behaviour was inappropriate, it was not sexually motivated. The hearing was told Dr Dalhuijsen-Bendijk was working at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, Co Durham, and Northumbria Hospital in Northumberland when a complaint emerged.

       In 2016 one of the patient’s friends claimed the pair had developed a personal relationship and recorded an artistic film together – a project which lasted more than a year.

       The woman, named only as Patient A, made an 11-minute video from the film footage and described the clips as “precious moments, just like your child on holiday”, the panel heard.

       In the video, Dr Dalhuijsen-Bendijk was heard saying to the woman: “Of course there’s a connection, that’s what it is, isn’t it? There’s something there.”

       But the psychologist claimed she was talking about an artistic connection with her patient rather than a sexual one.

       The panel ruled: “[We are] not satisfied that [her actions] were carried out for the purposes of her own sexual gratification or in pursuit of a future sexual relationship.”

       It said a caution would be an appropriate sanction because Dr Dalhuijsen-Bendijk had shown remorse and attended a course on maintaining boundaries.

       The tribunal added: “It is clear to the panel that Dr Dalhuijsen-Bendijk has reflected on and learned from this experience and is determined not to repeat her mistakes.”