Disclosure made in therapy is being passed on as a safeguarding risk..

[Idontwantthat]

I'm having counselling and last week I disclosed that there had been S.A when I was young (this was 16 years ago)

During the opening few minutes of my session today my therapist said what we discussed was flagged as a (historical) safeguarding issue and it had to be passed on to social services as he's still out there. She wanted me to give his name and I very reluctantly did as it felt like I didn't have much choice and was under pressure.

I made it clear I don't want to speak to the police and I don't want my name mentioned to anybody and she said she would make a note of that.

I have a bad feeling now. I don't want her to do anything with the information. I know the statistics for prosecuting historical sex crimes and they don't weigh in the victims favour. I don't want to go back there. I mentioned it purely in a therapeutic manner so that I could process it and move on.

I don't think I'm going to feel comfortable disclosing anything else now.

Can somebody tell me if this is procedure or whether it's unacceptable?

The long and the short of it is that I was taken advantage of when I was a pre teen by older guys which resulted in me presenting at a sexual health clinic with a sexually transmitted infection. She asked whether social services were aware of it at the time and I said yes they were. They knew the ins and outs of everything as they had a duty of care to me which they couldn't be bothered to fulfill failed to uphold.

She was pressing me for a name and I said I didn't feel comfortable disclosing that as I didn't want any fallback from it and didn't want to take it any further. I was then made to feel like it was my duty to pass the information on because he could be doing the same to other people and that I needed to give the name, so I did.

The thing that fucks me off the most is that she wants to send that information back to the social services department I was under at the time.. but they already have it. OK so they don't have a name but I don't remember them pressing me for one like this. They didn't give a shit then so they won't give a shit now 😕

*is a risk

Op your therapist unfortunately has misunderstood when to report. Counsellors are obliged to report any situation that is very likely to cause immediate serious harm to you or a child etc. An historical child abuse case does not fall into this category,.

Certainly they should not have ever asked for the identity. I feel this is a breach of your privacy and rights.

I would not go back and book or request a new counsellor. It would be a good idea with the new therapist to tell them in advance that you will be discussing childhood abuse and they need to guarantee confidentiality before you begin.

i am so sorry your experience was so unhelpful, most counsellors are brilliantly trained.

If you’re getting it for free through a third sector type organisation there’s a high chance she’s a trainee and a bit over zealous re safeguarding procedures.

I’m a therapist and manage/supervise a sexual assault counselling service within the NHS and this wouldn’t be something we would have to report.

I can't actually be sure whether she's a trainee or not actually, it's entirely possible I suppose but it wasn't mentioned to me.

I'm not sure how much I can say without outing myself even more but I contacted an organisation that support people affected by a certain thing, they then offered me 6 sessions of free counselling and the counsellor is this lady. It's not NHS based so not IAPT or anything like that, not something you access through your GP. A completely independent organisation.

I cant find her name on any of the registers mentioned upthread so god knows what her qualifications are to be honest 😐

Your duty with your counsellor is to talk about your own experience, in your own words if you want to and to take care of yourself. Whatever your reasons - which are of course entirely valid - for not pursuing prosecutions etc was your decision to make, it is not the job of any coy cells to cross examine your reasons or ask uncomfortable questions.
They are there to support your exploration of your past, in a way that is led and feels completely comfortable to you.
I can not stress how important it is to change your therapist.
Are they BACP registered??

You can register with the NHS on line for free counselling. It is a wait, but at least you have a trained professional. You could also enquire at local agencies for a reduced fee or even free sessions depending on your circumstances.

OP
I just want to say how awful this is and how sorry I am.

I see therapy as a bit pointless for a range of reasons, but one of them is that how can you ever trust anyone with private information.

It is beyond appalling that your privacy has been treated in this way. I hope she keeps her trap shut.

we need to know as to prevent it doesn't happen to others, and I'm afraid it probably has.

If abuse has happened this is solely the responsibility of the abuser.
It is in no way the responsibility of a child victim.

There is no guarantee that a child victim disclosing abuse prevents further abuse.
It may reduce the likelihood but it isn't a child victim's job to prevent adult abuse.
It is the responsibility of adults to create as safe as a society as possible.

She's just called me.

She's had a meeting with her line manager and the line manager agrees it needs to be reported to social services, not only that but they're giving my fucking name 😭

JFC.

tell them you will take legal action? I'm thinking a tin pot org offering free sessions will hopefully balk at that.

You can simply tell the police that you don't want to give a statement.
I worked for a long time with children and young people who had experienced sexual abuse and some would clearly state that they didn't want to give a police statement.
It is always your choice if you wish to do so.

Sorry for what you have been through OP. Were you able to tell her on the phone that you don't want to go forward with it? Could you email her so it is very clear?

I think this is now standard with NHS therapists, not those is private practice.

It isn't. I disclosed CSA to an NHS therapist and at no point did she ask for the perpetrators name or any details. OP's therapist has misunderstood safeguarding principles, there is only a need to report if the perpetrator is still a risk to OP or in a position of authority such as teacher, youth worker etc.

OP it's highly unlikely that SS will action anything. I liaise with them on a daily basis as part of my job and belive me, there has to be evidence that a child or vulnerable adult is at immediate risk of very significant harm for them to even respond to a referral. I can't imagine what your counsellor or her supervisor thinks they're going to do since the abuse was historic, its likely you'll just get a phonecall asking if you'd like any support and signposting you to some local services.

I do feel based on your side of the conversation that the therapist could have been so so much more sensitive in delivering this information, and explaining the implications to you. The fact that the information provided by PPs has been a relief to you means the therapist didn't adequately explain it to you in the first place

I hope you are able to find a new therapist, I would feel exactly like you do in this situation

I need to make a formal complaint but I don't think that will stall things on their end with the reporting.

I said its historical and nothing I've said indicates any present risk and she still said it needs to be passed on.

The ironic thing is she's said they can offer me additional sessions of counselling to process this. They are the ones re-traumatising me FFS.

They have no right doing this to me. I'm in bits.

You are an adult who can consent to disclosing of information. The unprofessional has to inform you before disclosing.

Ring her company back, ask for her manager and state that she does not have your consent. You do not want information you have disclosed to be forwarded and it's a GDPR complaint too.

This is your life that that terrible person has just attempted to sabotage after you, at your most vulnerable trusted her with information about your history.

Shame on her.

What!! I wouldn't engage with them any further and will be telling them as such.

They can't force you to relive your trauma like this, surely??

I made it crystal clear that I wouldn't be engaging with the police or social services if they contacted me, she was left in no doubt that I'm totally against this whole thing.

I have diagnosed CPTSD and an enormous fear of social services and the police as I was failed many times by both. The worst thing somebody could do to me is something like this. The worst.

This but in writing, for easy record keeping.

It sounds like your therapist is acting as a police officer rather than your therapist! I can’t understand what gives her the authority to insist you give her the name. Surely she should have at least said something along the lines of “before you disclose this identifiable information, I need to let you know how I might use this / what my responsibilities are once I know this’ - it’s called informed consent. As a therapist it’s her responsibility to ensure you are aware of the limits of confidentiality BEFORE you share information, not after! Some therapists obviously seem to think that the 2 min spiel about confidentiality at the beginning of the first session is completely understood and carried across every session thereafter. IMO I think you’ve been really let down by your therapist here. She sounds very inexperienced and has stepped way outside of her remit.

What did your contract with your therapist cover?

There is always an explicit contract between you and a therapist.
If you did not know the terms of your contract then you must have the right to challenge the therapist.

The contract is inherent in the counselling process.

I work with children and if they talk about historical abuse that is known about by SS then nothing happens as child is trying to make sense of their feelings ,get rid of their anger etc.
And asking the name I thought would have been classed as a leading question a big no no in child protection.
Sorry this has happened to you .hopefully you can find someone to help you with your issues. It took me 5 counsellors to find one I could relate and feel comfortable with.

I've just sent this in an email

"Hi could you ask your line manager to give me a call please I've just had some legal advice and I'm told this is an unnecessary GDPR breach as I don't consent to the information being passed on. This is all historical with no current risk therefore it doesn't fall under the mandatory safeguarding referral protocol"