Specific charges are spelled out in a state petition for the suspension. They accuse Jacobson of undressing and fondling a 34-year-old female patient in his office; using a 41-year-old female patient's foot to fondle himself ''while purporting to perform a shiatsu massage upon her"; and climbing into bed with a 30-year-old female patient at her residence and exposing her.
A hearing is scheduled here next week on the case. The state's prosecuting attorney said he will seek revocation of Jacobson's license.
The board's regulations governing pschologists say "sexual intimacies with clients are unethical."
Jacobson, contacted yesterday, referred questions to his attorney. His attorney, Arthur T. Donato Jr., of Media, said he will argue that Jacobson is not guilty of any misconduct that could cost him his license.
The case represents only the second time the state board has sought a license revocation since it was empowered to do so in April 1986.
A board spokesman said the case, although involving allegations years old, did not come to its attention until December. Reportedly, the women involved initially sought civil action in Philadelphia's Common Pleas Court, where thousands of cases are backlogged because of a severe shortage of judges.
Some of the charges go back to a time before Jacobson was even licensed, according to state documents. A source said Jacobson had taken and failed the state licensing exam. The state board confirmed that even without a license, Jacobson can practice "therapy counseling." He apparently was doing so at the time of two of the alleged incidents.
Donato said Jacobson is not practicing at all, pending the outcome of the case.
