Therapists can encounter disclosures, patterns of behaviour, or contextual information that raise questions about harm, safeguarding, and public protection. These conversations can evoke uncertainty, anxiety, and pressure to reach a quick conclusion.
A good first response is neither to minimise a concern nor to make a forensic determination in the therapy room. It is to remain calm, clarify what is known, work within competence, seek appropriate support, and act where necessary to reduce the risk of harm.
This guide is for qualified practitioners. It is not a risk-assessment tool, legal advice, or a substitute for supervision, local safeguarding procedures, specialist consultation, or emergency action.
1. Respond calmly and explain the limits of confidentiality
A client should be met with dignity and without sensationalism. This supports honest discussion and reduces the likelihood that shame will close down important information.
At the same time, do not make promises of absolute confidentiality. If they have not already been explained, remind the client of the circumstances in which information may need to be shared—for example, where there is a serious concern about the safety of a child, an adult at risk, or another identifiable person.
The precise threshold will depend on the setting, professional role, local policy, contract, and jurisdiction. When in doubt, seek advice promptly rather than attempting to manage the question alone.
2. Clarify the information without filling gaps with assumptions
Distinguish carefully between:
- What the client has said
- What you have directly observed
- What you have been told by another source
- What you do not yet know
- Your clinical interpretation or concern
Useful areas to clarify may include whether there is an immediate risk; whether there is current access to a child or adult at risk; coercion, threats, exploitation, or abuse; escalation in behaviour; online contexts; and any current involvement with safeguarding, criminal justice, health, or supervisory services.
Curiosity is not the same as interrogation. The aim is to understand enough to make a proportionate and defensible decision about next steps, not to conduct an investigation beyond your role or competence.
3. Consider immediate safety and safeguarding duties
Where there is immediate danger, follow emergency procedures and your organisation’s safeguarding policy without delay.
In England, local authorities have safeguarding duties where an adult has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and is unable to protect themselves because of those needs. The statutory guidance also stresses multi-agency co-operation and the importance of preventing harm while promoting the adult’s wellbeing and involvement in decisions where possible.
Safeguarding is not a single action or a label. It is a process of recognising concern, consulting appropriately, deciding what action is necessary, and recording why.
4. Bring the concern to supervision and stay within competence
A practitioner should not be left to carry a complex safeguarding or risk concern alone. Bring it promptly to clinical supervision, a designated safeguarding lead, or an appropriate senior colleague. Depending on the circumstances, this may include consultation with specialist services, an employer, professional body, local authority, or legal adviser.
Therapeutic work may remain an important part of a person’s support. However, therapy should not become a substitute for necessary safeguarding, specialist assessment, or risk-management processes.
“What is my clinical role here, what is outside it, and what needs to happen now to reduce the risk of harm?”
5. Make a clear, contemporaneous record
Record relevant information as soon as possible. A defensible record usually includes:
- The information disclosed or observed
- The context and any stated immediacy of concern
- Consultation and advice obtained
- The options considered
- The action taken, or the reason no further action was taken
- The rationale for the decision
Good record-keeping does not eliminate uncertainty. It makes your reasoning, professional consultation, and actions accountable.
Practice with care, not fear
Work involving sexual behaviour, harmful sexual behaviour, abuse, or risk can be clinically and ethically demanding. It requires practitioners to avoid two unhelpful extremes: treating every disclosure as proof of danger, or allowing discomfort and stigma to obscure a genuine safeguarding concern.
Careful practice makes room for complexity while keeping safety, accountability, and professional boundaries in view.
Considering specialist training with IoPP?
IoPP trains already-qualified counsellors, psychotherapists, applied psychologists, and equivalent talking-therapy practitioners to develop specialist practice.
To discuss which programme may be right for you, including the January 2027 intake, make an enquiry with IoPP.
About ForensicSexology.org
ForensicSexology.org is an independent, evidence-informed professional resource founded and edited by Simon Wilson, developed in association with the Institute of Psychosexual Psychotherapy. It addresses therapeutic intervention, harmful sexual behaviour, safeguarding, governance, domestic abuse and relationship violence, and public protection with clinical care and without sensationalism.
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