The Florence Nightingale effect is a trope where a caregiver falls in love with their patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care. Feelings may fade once the patient is no longer in need of care.

What is it called when a patient falls in love with their therapist?

There is actually a term in psychoanalytic literature that refers to a patients feelings about his or her therapist known as transference,1 which is when feelings for a former authority figure are transferred onto a therapist. Falling in love with your therapist may be more common than you realize.