What do therapist have to report?

Can anyone answer this?

If I tell my T that my ex husband came on my property and hit me and gave me a black eye and I did not file a police report on it, does my T have to report it somewhere?

Thanks.

(((((Raceka)))))

I don't know. I would hope T would help you find safety. I would also hope that you could tell T anything without fear of reprisal.

Maybe someone else can help you with this? Maybe a call to the county social work office?

Take gentle care.

Ohio has a "duty to warn" law which says therapists must warn potential victims (if you said you were going to kill someone) and report threats to themselves (if you told another therapist/mental health worker you were going to kill your T) but, unless you are a minor, I don't think there's anyone to "report" to that you were hit; that's part of your "job" to report to police or not, etc. regarding your own health. I imagine if you told your therapist your husband said he was going to kill you and your therapist didn't think you could deal with that, etc. they might report something.

Why don't you ask your therapist; ask your T about the "duty to warn" and reporting laws in Ohio, etc. and find out how your T interprets them, etc. But, usually if you "know" something and get to choose to file a report or not, etc. then no one is going to step in and save you; it's only when someone is clueless as to what's going on, if the therapist has information no one else has that can affect other people.

No one is going to step in between you and your ex-husband; if it were to affect your mental health, if you became psychotic as a result of the fight with your ex you might be hospitalized as that's the area your T works in, psychotherapy. But your physical health and life circumstances they're not going to mess with, especially if you don't want their help.

Hey Raceka,

My own therapist once told me he is only obligated to share information about me if he thinks I will harm myself or someone else. Otherwise he's bound to silence. I bet your T is the same. You could ask him about what circumstances would allow him to break confidence.

BE SAFE. Take every precaution that you possibly can!!!!!

Sidony

Would you like for him to, on your behalf?

(((( Raceka )))) I'm so sorry this happened to you!!

Therapists must report abuse of a child or vulnerable person, as well as if they have reason to believe that you are a danger to yourself or to someone else. As I understand it, there is not a law that they would have to report a crime committed against you by your ex, although most would want to know why you didn't report that.

There is a guy in my class who is a probation officer, learning to be a counselor as the rest of us are. He sometimes talks about learning the difference between his role as a police officer and as a counselor. Sometimes in a case study he will say something about as a police officer, he would have to report such and such, while as a counselor his responsibility is to keep confidentiality. There is a difference between the roles, as therapists are not required to report all of the crimes they hear of - only the specific circumstances that apply to them.

Thanks for your help. I just don't think it's going to help to report it. It will just make him madder. He's an alcoholic and he's upset because he got his driver's license suspended for failure to pay child support. He wants me to fix it and there is nothing I can do. I didn't even know about it. He just needed to lash out at someone.

The only report when there is: 1. abuse of a child, elderly, or disabled person (vulnerable). 2. you are a harm to yourself or others 3. they are court ordered to do so.

Being a competent, fully aware adult, you can choose to live your life whatever way you please. This is why therapists cannot force any charges to be made because you are choosing to live that way.

I was going to start a thread on this topic, but found this one and decided to post here.

Last week, I told my T about something, and the very next day the authorities showed up. I was not going to harm myself or anyone else. There was no child abuse involved. I was just very scared and feared that I was in danger.

I'm not sure if he reported it. It just seems like too much of coincidence though. Would he have to tell me if he was going to?

I think I will just ask him during my next session. If he did report it, I don't think I will be able to continue therapy. I trusted him when I disclosed the info. I don't think I could ever trust him again.

Yet, on the other hand, if he did report it, I'm sure it was only out of concern for my well being.

I'm really confused about this situation.

Hi Raceka,

I am concerned when you say "he just needed to lash out at someone" because it sounds like you have resigned yourself to this happening and it being acceptable and it isn't acceptable at all hun. No one has the right to hit anyone else, no matter how angry they are. You should be safe to live your live away from abuse of any kind. I know you think it's not worth reporting it but it might be good to have it on file with the police?
Without knowing the full story and the level of danger involved it is hard to say if your therapist will have to break confidentiality or not but they should tell you they are going to if they do.
If someone told you your own story back to you, what would you advise them to do?

*hugs* xxxxxxx

No. I also think (although I am not giving you legal advice) that you are protected by client confidentiality that he cannot report it. And I would also point out that many battered women have gone to therapy, and if therapists had to report abuse to the authorities, they'd be flooded with calls. I'm sure your T has had this come up before.

However, I'm a little concerned that you may not be taking this incident as seriously as you could, and feel it is important for you to consider taking steps to protect yourself. You could file for a domestic violence civil protection order, the process is described here:

http://www.ohiolegalservices.org/pub...s/qandact_view

A protection order is not the same as a criminal case, and it does not hurt "his record" in any way (unless he violates the order, but that is of course under his control).

Also, your local battered women's shelter could answer your question about reporting and help you with a protection order, here is their website:

http://www.scmcbws.org/

Anne