A married father-of-two hedge fund manager named Michael Pollack has filed a lawsuit against his therapist-turned-lover, Heidi Kling, accusing her of “seducing” him into engaging in steamy office romps and charging him over $250,000 in “mistress money.”
Pollack, 46, claims he was duped into thinking he was “trapped” in his marriage by Kling, 58, who he saw for therapy sessions during the 2008 financial crisis.
The duo was involved in a secret relationship for 10 years. Pollack alleges that Kling “fostered” an emotional dependence that led him to give her large sums of money after each therapy session. The Wall Street executive claims he has given Kling over $250,000 in total.
Pollack is the co-founder and CEO of the SCA Charitable Foundation and was previously employed by Glenhill Capital, a hedge fund on Wall Street.
He founded his charity after surviving the 2008 Mumbai terror attack while visiting his wife’s family, and the trauma of the experience is one of the reasons he sought help from Kling. However, while undergoing therapy, the lawsuit claims Kling enchanted Pollack by sending him flirtatious emails constantly.
Pollack admitted he had an “erotic interest” in Kling after just six months of therapy, but now claims she inspired an “idolization” of her to swindle him out of his fortune.
While the two embarked on a secret love affair, the therapist convinced Pollack that his wife was “difficult to love,” “extremely rigid,” and “highly controlling,” according to the lawsuit.
Their relationship turned physical in 2011 during an intimate therapy session, and the lawsuit alleges that Kling “took (his) hand in hers and initiated sexual contact.
The sexual contact escalated and continued in every single session thereafter.” Their liaison often became expensive, with Pollack paying thousands of dollars each week when Kling’s husband was out of work.
Pollack estimates that his therapy costs with Kling totaled up to $50,000 before their relationship became intimate. Following the start of their affair, he claims his “mistress money” payments ran upwards of a quarter of a million dollars.
Pollack says he would empty a bank account his wife didn’t have access to and use an ATM near Kling’s office in Manhattan’s Union Square to pay for their sessions.
Despite relationships between therapists and patients being strictly forbidden, Pollack claims that Kling’s mentor, Joseph Newirth, 79, who he also had appointments with, encouraged their fling, saying it would help him “grow emotionally.”
Their years-long entanglement came to a halt in August 2021 after Pollack began “to feel enormous internal pressure to make a choice between Dr. Kling or his wife.” However, after ending things with the therapist, her mentor allegedly berated Pollack, shouting: “You were a f***ing robot before you met her. She opened you up, gave you life.”
Pollack is now suing Kling and Newirth for unspecified damages, claiming he now “struggles with how much time he lost with his family while he was consumed by devotion.”
According to Psychology Today, Kling specializes in treating anxiety, eating disorders, and relationship issues. The outlet says she uses a “direct and interactive approach to help clients clarify problems, apply strategies to minimize negative behavior patterns, and cope more effectively with painful emotions.”
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