Can jurors discuss a case with a therapist?

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Hi everyone,

I've tried to find information online but can't see anything relating to my specific issue so wondered if anyone here would have any knowledge.

Basically, I served on a jury from last week until yesterday and have found it very distressing. A lot of the distress I'm feeling now is due to what happened during deliberations. As the case is over I can discuss any events that occurred in the courtroom but the judge said that anything that was said/done during deliberations must remain private. I'm wondering if this rule would apply to a therapist? I already see a therapist and our next appointment is next week so I want to discuss how I have reacted to the events but as so much of my upset is tied to what went on during the deliberations it would be pointless if I can't discuss that element with her.

I'm wondering if mental health professionals would be an exception to this rule. I obviously don't want to put my therapist or myself in a sticky situation.

Thanks in advance!

Hmm - having fairly recently been on a jury I think you can talk about your feelings and reactions, but not specifics of the deliberations. There is guidance on how deliberations are to be conducted and if things got heated/you felt bullied, etc. you should have sent a note to the judge.

If it helps, I found the case I was on very distressing and once I was able to tell family and friends roughly what it had been about it helped me no end.

You could ask your therapist what they think - they will, if they have a professional qualification, be working to a code of ethics, and also have access to a professional body and a supervisor to back up whether this is ok or not. Any therapist worth the name would take on finding this out for you (disclosure - retired therapist).

I also found deliberations very upsetting OP. The stuff in court was pretty cold/black and white but things that were said amongst jurors have really lingered with me. So you’re not alone in that. I don’t know in practical terms about discussing it with a therapist though.

No, you are not allowed to disclose what happened in that room. I have been a juror. The law is clear. I am a therapist working with people who have signed official secrets act, or occupational issues that can't legally be disclosed. We have to work around it - no secrets, names dates details, but work on the inner feelings or resulting issues. You could fictionalise or change the details to a high degree maybe.

I’m at the criminal bar and really sorry to read this. I can well imagine how some deliberations (let alone the actual evidence) can be very difficult to deal with.
If I were you I would ring the court and ask for the judges email address. Explain why. Or they will ask you to email the court to be forwarded to the judge.
‘Dear judge etc’. End question will be ‘is this permitted?’ Keep it short.
My own feeling is if it were me I would set out the situation to your therapist. ‘I’m hoping your code of conduct allows me to share centrally relevant matters which otherwise are confidential and which you must keep confidential’.
You wouldn’t need to use the court location, the defendants name, or even the precise count on the indictment or of course any barristers or jurors names (ie You could describe the offence as ‘serious violence’ or ‘a sexual assault’ or whatever.
I cannot imagine that should you need to discuss things for your own mental health with a professional who will themselves maintain confidentiality that this could be prohibited. I’d contact the judge (through the court also).

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It's very difficult to explain my position without giving anything away. I wouldn't need to discuss anything particularly specific about deliberations with her as in "x juror said this" it's more the overarching attitude and the implications of that on my worldview, if that makes sense. And also about my thoughts and feelings and behaviour that are relevant to our ongoing therapy. So as an example, I work with my therapist on self esteem and assertiveness and during the process, to my great surprise, I seemed to find a backbone.

It's also helpful to see that I'm not alone in my distress after serving on a jury. It isn't something I'd heard anyone talk about before and I hadn't contemplated that I would be affected in this way so it's come as a bit of a shock that I'm so upset.

@HeronLanyon That's very helpful, thank you! I didn't realise that you could contact the judge.

Court office will no doubt ask you to email them for forwarding. Good luck.
The evidence we deal with daily damages us also I haven’t had therapy but perhaps should have ! Hope it goes well.

I e done case either so awful or so long or both where the judge has released all jurors from ever serving again. Also have major breaks during the trial and agreed readily to requests for breaks etc. Kept days short where evidence had been very difficult. Not enough is done for jurors in some cases.

I get it, OP. My jury experience was nearly forty years ago, but it still lingers. It was nothing to do with the cases I heard, which were pretty minor. More the attitudes and behaviour of some of my fellow jurors.

If there's anything that confirms my natural inclination to staying on the straight and narrow, it's an absolute fear of being tried by a jury.

If there's anything that confirms my natural inclination to staying on the straight and narrow, it's an absolute fear of being tried by a jury.

Equally, my confidence in reporting being the victim of crime where the perpetrator may end up being tried by jury was totally eroded by the jury process.

@saraclara and @GingerAndTheBiscuits You have both pretty much summed up my issue! My faith in people and the justice system has been badly shaken and I didn't have that much faith in either to begin with.

@saraclara You're not the first person I've heard say something like that which makes me feel rather unsettled tbh. A friend said said something similar after being on a jury about being shocked that people held certain views.

To the OP, I'm not sure what the lines are but I doubt if there's any care for the wellbeing of jury members after trials other than being thanked for their service.

A lot of PPs are far more well behaved than I am - I'll discuss my experience of jury service with medical professionals who are bound by ethics to keep it confidential. My case was horrendous (involved a child) and we were given absolutely no help once we gave the verdict. Given I was forced into jury service there is no way I'm risking my mental health over their ridiculous rules.