About 10% of Americans seek mental health therapy or counseling, and therapists take your privacy very seriously.
While almost everything you share with your therapist is held in confidence, there are a few exceptions to the rule:
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- danger to self
- danger to others
- abuse of children (including use of child pornography in certain states), dependent, or elderly adults
- current or future crime concerning safety of others
Do therapists have to report suicidal thoughts?
Therapists are trained to carefully navigate self-harm conversations.
It’s important for you to feel safe talking about thoughts of self-harm without the fear of getting “locked up.” If every discussion of self-harm were treated as an emergency, clients would rarely bring these issues up, potentially increasing their risk.
In short, if your therapist determines your risk of self-harm is low, then the conversation will remain confidential.
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For instance, if you were to say “Sometimes I feel I’d be better off dead,” the therapist will gently explore these thoughts further to determine the level of risk.
Together, the two of you might develop a safety plan to help you monitor or manage any thoughts of suicide.
The safety plan steps might include:
- identifying suicidal thoughts
- using coping strategies that don’t require contacting someone else (i.e. taking a walk in nature or listening to music)
- contacting someone you enjoy being around (not necessarily for help)
- contacting a family member or friend to specifically ask for help (this might involve 24-hour check-ins)
- contacting a professional or urgent care facility
If the self-harm risk appears high or imminent, and all of the steps in the safety plan have been followed, then the therapist will likely take action to get you set up with a higher level of care for your safety and well-being.
Do therapists have to report a threat to others?
If you tell your therapist that you want to harm a specific person or group of people, and the threat appears serious and/or imminent, then your therapist will report it to the police, inform the person who the serious threat is about, or both.
Do therapists have to report domestic violence?
If you’re under 18 and you’re being abused — physically, sexually, emotionally, or through neglect — the therapist is required by law to notify child protective services in the area where the abuse took place.
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This law also applies to vulnerable or dependent individuals, such as older adults. For instance, if you’re age 65 or over and you’re being abused or neglected, the therapist is required to report it to authorities.
When it comes to intimate partner violence (IPV) between two adults, the answer is more complicated and depends on each individual case.
In many states, therapists are not required to report adult-on-adult assault or battery, including if the acts are between partners or spouses. Rather, the therapist might help the abused partner come up with a plan to stay safe, which may include escaping the situation.
Can therapists report crimes?
Whether a therapist reports a crime depends on if the crime was committed in the past, is ongoing, or is going to happen in the future.
In most cases, confessions of past crimes are held in confidence. For instance, if you tell your therapist that you stole a TV last year, that information is protected by confidentiality rules.
When it comes to present crimes or future crimes the client reports intending to engage in, the therapist must report it if the crime concerns others’ immediate safety.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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