Pre-Trial Therapy
'Pre-trial therapy' is a term set by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), referring to legal guidelines on how therapy notes may be requested and used as evidence in criminal proceedings (to view click here). This is relevant to practitioners working with any victim of any crime. However, the guidelines tend to be disproportionately applied to victims/survivors of sexual and domestic abuse.
There is currently no standardised nor mandatory training for counsellors and psychotherapists on this topic, causing anxiety and confusion on how to manage legal requests for information. Previous versions of the CPS guidelines have restricted what clients/victims/survivors can discuss about their traumatic experiences in therapy, increasing this anxiety and confusion.
For victims/survivors seeking therapeutic support, many are left without the assurance that they will receive a truly private and confidential service.
Support to Work Pre-Trial with Clients
I offer training, consultancy, writing, and speaking services (media, interviews, presentations) on the topic of pre-trial therapy. Areas that can be covered include:
What is pre-trial therapy?
Summary of criminal justice system.
CPS guidelines: legacy and current version.
Contracting and note-taking.
Managing Police and CPS requests or court orders for notes.
Appearing in court as a witness.
Working within a therapists' ethical code, GDPR guidance and ICO compliance.
Survivor experiences of reporting and barriers to disclosure.
Understanding the specific needs of marginalised communities when working pre-trial (e.g.- LGBT+ people, refugees, asylum seekers, Black people and people of colour).
Taking action for and with survivors.
Working Experience
Click for further information.
- Routledge: Working with Survivors of Sexual Violence - Inside and Outside the Room
- Visit my blog for discussions on psychotherapy, counselling, mental health, and a range of other topics.
- PESI - Psychotherapy Excellence: Pre-Trial Therapy, Understanding the Revised Guidelines
- Novara Media: I'm a Therapist, Not a Cop
- Transformations Journal: Pre-Trial Therapy in the UK - Survivors of Sexual & Domestic Violence
- Inspiring Women Changemakers: Perspectives on Intersectionality
- PESI - Psychotherapy Excellence: Sexual Violence Series
- Open Democracy/Transformation: Psychotherapy as Activism
- Inspiring Women Changemakers: A Professional's Perspective on Domestic and Sexual Abuse: Survivor's Experiences of Reporting to the Police
Click for further information.
Click for further information.
- Consultancy available for individuals and small groups
- Galop: Pre-Trial Therapy with LGBTQ+ Survivors of Abuse.
- Against Violence & Abuse (AVA): Understanding and Demystifying Pre-Trial Therapy
- NESTT: Pre-Trial Therapy Training
- Confer: Sexual and Domestic Violence - Therapy and the Law
- Counselling Tutor CPD Library: Pre-Trial Therapy
- Let’s Talk Hull (NHS City Health Care Partnership): Pre-Trial Therapy
- Inspiring Women Changemakers: Book Launch
- NESTT: An Introduction to Pre-Trial Therapy
- York St. John University: Working with Sexual Violence from a Relational and Empowerment Perspective / Pre-Trial Therapy / Trauma and Sexual Violence (School of Psychological and Social Sciences)
- Temenos Sheffield: Pre-Trial Therapy 101, Working Outside of the Consulting Room
Click for further information.
- Conscious Being Magazine - Pre-Trial Therapy: Falling Through The Cracks
- PESI - Psychotherapy Excellence: Pre-Trial Therapy, A Crucial Moment
- Inspiring Women Changemakers - Challenging Pre-Trial Therapy Guidelines
- Against Violence & Abuse (AVA) - Community of Practice for Women with Multiple Disadvantages
