Specialist Counselling FAQs

What is pre-trial therapy?

Pre-trial therapy is any type of therapy that is accessed when a report has been made to the police, a criminal investigation is underway and before the case has gone to trial. The choice to enter therapy before, after or during the criminal justice process is yours. Reactions to traumatic events may appear immediately or emerge over time.  It is normal to experience upsetting and confusing thoughts after a traumatic event, but some people may feel that they begin to adjust naturally over a few weeks. A period of watchful waiting may be beneficial, so that you can monitor how you are feeling and coping. Your wellbeing is the most important factor in choosing when it is the right time to access therapy services.

What can I use it for?

Just like other counselling you will see the same therapist at regular appointments.

You can talk about what you are thinking and feeling at the moment and work on making changes, for example, with feelings of anxiety; issues your self-esteem or challenges within relationships.  You can work on coping strategies for dealing with what happened to you and talk about the impact it has had on you.  You can also talk about any worries you have about the police or court process.  You can also talk about the incidents and events discussed in your statement (ABE) if you wish to do so, but any new information should be shared with your OIC before being discussed within therapy sessions.

When a criminal case is underway, therapy and specialist support services are required to work within CPS Guidelines. As part of the criminal justice process, the police or CPS may seek access to the notes we keep about your sessions.

First Disclosures

It is important that if you have new information regarding the incident, or you want to talk about a new or different incident, this should be reported to the Officer In Charge of your case before you talk to your counsellor about it.  This is because we want to prevent your counsellor from becoming a witness in your case.

Will my notes be used in court?

It is possible that we could receive a request from the prosecutor or a court order saying we must disclose your counselling records. Our counselling notes are very brief and factual.  The police will not have access to all your therapy notes, only very specific pieces of information related to the disclosure or incident under investigation (or what they call “a reasonable line of enquiry”). If the police ask us for access to your notes, we will always ask you first whether you want them to be shared. You do not have to share your notes if the police ask for them and we as your service are under no legal obligation to do so. Though this very rarely happens, it is important for you to know, that if we or you refuse to share notes, later in the investigation process the Crown Court can issue a court order to access them. If this were to happen, the prosecution may need to release some of the information to the defence lawyer – this means that the suspect could have access to some of your notes in these rare cases. For this reason, we keep limited notes about our sessions.

Ethical Practice

RASASC Counselling Service is accredited by the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and works within their Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.  A copy of the Ethical Framework can be found on the BACP’s web site at: www.bacp.co.uk/ethical_framework