Do Therapists Have to Report Abuse by Other Therapists?

I'm 99% sure that I know the answer to this question, but I know a lot of people here have more experience than I do.

Last night, my new therapist (J) said he thought that he might be mandated to report what happened with my ex therapist (S) to the state licensing board.

No blatant sexual anything happened; the most sexual thing that happened was him telling me that he'd had a sex dream about me and about how aroused it made him. Also, I guess, he did tell me about his genital piercings as well as what he likes to do sexually with women/his physical preferences. Otherwise, boundaries were just non-existent in general.

I'm in a panic. I do not want J to report S. That is not something I could handle. I'm pretty sure that he is NOT mandated to report this, but I was hoping some of you could offer some insight and experience....

What license does J have? I think it matters.

J (current T) is a LCSW

S (ex T) is a PsyD

J was right. The NASW Code of Ethics says that if he's aware of another professional acting unethically (which I believe S did), then he may have to report. I'm wondering if you express to him how detrimental the reporting would be to you. If it would harm the client, then he shouldn't. I'd talk to him more about this for sure.

How would the second one know who to report? You are not mandated to give the second one the first one's name.

I think he has the first one's name
I think I put it on my forms I filled out when I was transferring to him bc I was still possibly seeing S while transferring

***** ***** *****

What about since the other person is not a social worker??

F***

I did my research before telling him these things thinking they were not reportable

Yes, I told him I regretted telling him now
I told him I didn't want him to report it
I told him I didn't want him to report it for my own sake, not my ex therapist's

How did I miss this...

NASW isn't that just an organization that you can choose to be a member of though? Does it mandate reporting to the state licensing board?

I have no knowledge of mandated reporting, and I hope you are able to find a place where you are both in control and finding the assistance you need. But at the risk of offending, I want to add that the exchanges you outlined in the third paragraph ARE very blatantly sexual. Ok, perhaps there is no physical component. But they are blatant, and sexual abuse and harrassment can i volve but don't necessarily hinge on physicality.

Quite some time ago I felt "screwed over" by someone I was confiding in who turned out to be a mandated reporter. It took a long time to get past what I thought was a grievous overstep on the reporter's part. But eventually I realized I was too victimized and brainwashed at the time to be able to advocate for myself effectively, which I believe is not uncommon and why the practice exists. Wishing you peace.

I don't think he has to report, but it's the right thing to do. Anais is right. What your exT did was inappropriate and unethical. At the end of the day, this is something now outside of your control. I hope that you're able to have peace in whatever happens.

No. 2 was a social worker and certainly had no problem not reporting Smaug (thumbnail: abandonment/forced medical treatment by psychiatrist who claimed I was suicidal). So, depends on the therapist.

DBC (PhD) did want to report Smaug. We came to an agreement that she would not do so without consulting me first and involving me in the decision. In the event I decided to do it on my own anyway.

I would say if this guy isn't listening to your objections and can't have a reasoned conversation about it but he insists on doing it, you might want to find someone else.

thank you atat - I'm so sorry that you went through that.

no, he's not steamrolling me with reporting. He just brought up that he "was probably supposed to" report S but doesn't really know (first time encountering this I guess), that he would need to look into it, recognized it would damage our therapeutic relationship, but he might be obligated, and he won't do it without us talking about it first.

I just didn't anticipate this coming up at all...

I'm combing through laws and codes and all of this stuff....

I don't know that there's a legal obligation for him to report. Mandatory reporters only have to report if there's suspected ongoing abuse or if the person believes the person themselves are a danger to themselves or others. I think it's more of a question of an ethical obligation to report.

For background, I am a mandated reporter in Virginia, so your mileage may vary.

I'm in Virginia, so any info you can give on the state's laws would be amazing

What happens if he reports? Does that mean you have to make a complaint yourself or talk to the licensing board or something? Does the info become public?

TBH I think it's best that this very inappropriate behavior gets reported. If he talked this way to you, he might have done it to someone else or he might in the future. If a report is filed it may prevent him from harming another client. Or if he does, it might help that client get taken seriously.

I know it's probably traumatic to revisit this situation but it could really be for the best.

I don't know, and I don't think that he (current T) fully knows.

But I won't file a complaint. I just won't.

My therapist is an LCSW also, as is my daughter's t. Ex-t was an LPC. Both t's (daughter's and mine) have told me they are mandated to report my ex-t only if I am still in danger with ex-t, or if I am incompetent. I am neither. However, either t can report my ex-t without my permission, if they want to. Both t's have offered to report ex-t multiple times but are respecting my wishes for them not to. I am actually trying to finish up the report myself to submit anyway. I highly suspect if I wind up not submitting my report for some unforeseen reason, my t would push for me to let her do the report -- and believe I would consent. My ex-t was reckless and I guess if I can't hold her accountable for what she did to me, I'll let my t do it.

Anyway, from what I've been told, LCSW reporting is not mandated unless you are in danger or incompetent but the t can still do it if they want to. I know LCSW ethics rules are the same for all throughout the States. Not sure what your state laws are though -- I'm in WI.

Sorry your T seems to be impinging on your autonomy, although he's in a tough spot in terms of looking out for public welfare, too. I do agree with ATAT.

Your Ts behavior was very overt. How long were you with him? I imagine a T with those behaviors would be harmful in other ways that may not be so obvious.

It's a shame RoboT is on vacation, or I'd ask him (LCSW in Virginia). But the way I understand the code for LCSWs specifically is that they have to report other LCSWs, but I didn't see anything about other licenses. They're also supposed to inform you of your rights to file a complaint with the Department of Health. If he didn't report he'd probably be okay legally.

Had my session
My T is a member of NASW so may be required to report
He says he will do the research this week and decide by the end of next week
Apparently he's been talking to my Group T about this as well - I think she brought it up

The thing is, I haven't told him everything
And now I both want to and don't want to
Want to, because I don't want to feel like I have secrets that I have to keep to keep someone from getting into trouble
Don't want to, because I'm afraid the new information would push him towards reporting, and he just told me that he's leaning towards NOT reporting (the only "possibly reportable" thing he knows is about S telling me about his sex dream about me and how it turned him on - he doesn't know that S told me about his sex life, sexual preferences, etc. or that S asked me to help him internet sleuth on his ex wife to find out if she was pregnant with her roommate)

It hit me on my way in to work today that I paid him. That I paid S. That the "friend" vs. "therapist" thing wasn't just words/labels. It's not that simple. I paid him. I wasn't "special" like he told me/I like to believe. He didn't see me out of love. I'm sure he cared, I know he cared, I know he put way more energy into me than I paid for, but still... I paid him. I kind of always ignored that part...

I feel sick to my stomach today.

if you tell the truth and someone else gets in trouble it doesn't mean you did the wrong thing, they did. When you are ready - tell your truth and let the chips fall where they may. This ex T didn't seem to protect you so why protect him? Wishing you well.