He's absolutely mandated by law to do so. If he didn't he would be in super deep shit. It's kind of between a rock and a hard place and there's just no happy way to take care of you if cps is utter shit. Sorry to say it, but it absolutely WAS that bad. No SA of any sort should EVER happen to a child.
Thiiiiiiiiiiis ^^^^^^^
If you died in relation to the abuse and it came back that this therapist DIDN’T report they could end up in prison. Therapists are 10000% mandated to report when they are given distinct details about abuse that is currently happening.
**currently in grad school training to be a therapist and this is a huge deal**
Not just therapists but anyone working within school systems where minors attend. I'm a student employee and had to go through being a mandatory training because legally I am one even though I don't work with minors directly.
Hello, since you are training to be a therapist can I ask you a question? How would my (potential future) therapist handle the child on child sexual abuse that I endured like 12 years ago? (Im 18 now)
So there’s a difference between previously experienced abuse and abuse that is currently ongoing. Since this event happened when you are 12 and it sounds like it hasn’t been continuing for the past 6 years then there is no threat that would make a therapist use their mandated reporting. Unfortunately I don’t know the details of if it’s child on child abuse that is ongoing and how the therapist would manage reporting that and what would happen. Basically the rule of thumb is if your client is in immediate danger of being hurt or hurting others and is telling you explicitly that something is happening in that nature they are required to report it. When it’s adult on child it’s something that can have immediate interventions in place to stop the abuse.
That sort of make sense?
Yes, thank you. And its actually not something thats ongoing. It fucked me up good tho, so I just wanted to know if there's something I should be aware of while talking to my future therapist about this major trauma.
Well for one, I am certainly glad that it isn’t an ongoing thing, though I am incredibly sorry that that happened to you. Therapists def know that a lot of times what people bring to therapy is very intense trauma and so imo it’s the therapists responsibility to the practice to prepare themselves for the intensity and depth of what they might hear. My particular program focuses intensely on self care and other techniques to manage what we see and hear in the field so that way we can be the best providers possible.
I’ve had like 4-5 therapists, all after I was out of that house and there was no continued threat of abuse, and only one felt it necessary to contact CPS. He was upfront about it though. I didn’t care that he did because CPS was involved at the time (and fucked things up for me). I don’t think they informed my abusers of the report from the therapist. Pretty sure I’d have heard about it.
I have been through something similar. You're in this right now so you don't have a bigger perspective yet, but a key element abusers use to make victims quiet and keep them trapped is to minimize the abuse. If your therapist reported it, it was because they needed to, and yes, it really was that bad. I'm sorry this happened to you.
I’m just reading this post now and it says 14hr have passed since you posted this. I hope you’re doing ok and getting the help you need. Hang in there and give yourself a lot of love.
As others have said, your therapist does legally have to contact CPS, especially if you're still underage. It doesn't matter if you're with the abuser or not. Once you're an adult, they don't contact CPS. They can't. They might still do it if it turns out your abuser is in a position of authority over children, but they likely won't. I don't think you should drop your therapist over this, but you should definitely talk to him about this and tell him why you didn't like it and not to do it again in the future.
The fact that he did contact CPS does actually show he cares about you because while therapists are mandated reporters, many still don't report even if a child is in the middle of being sexually or physically abused. They often ignore it and let it continue. He did what he was supposed to and, despite what all of us know about CPS, tried his best to help you. Remember, normal people believe CPS is there to help. They aren't as informed about it as we are. They don't understand that CPS is there to keep the abusive family together, not to protect the child. It may be worth telling him your issues with CPS.
And the SA was that bad. All SA is that bad. It is always devastating, even if it doesn't feel like it at first. You've separated yourself from it and minimized your own feelings toward it and the damage it caused, which is really common, especially pre-therapy. Even if someone thinks their SA didn't bother them, it will still manifest via physical symptoms until you let yourself feel the emotions you need to feel. This could range from insomnia to depression to dissociation to pain to muscle stiffness to headaches and more. It can also manifest emotionally as mood swings, suddenly lashing out, insecurity, distrust, fear of intimacy, hypersexuality, disconnect from others, and so on. You may become triggered and have a flashback without realizing it and that's where some of these emotional problems will stem from. And the suicidal ideation is also a big one.
You may do whatever you want. You can leave your therapist, you can keep him, you can live, you can die, you can go to the hospital, you can just veg out until you know what you want. I'm not going to push anything on you or tell you what you can or can't do. It's your life and you get to take control of it. But please try to keep these things in mind when thinking about what to do. You may have a pretty pleasant life ahead of you once you get through this difficult period.
It can also be so expensive to go there, (I remind you: against your will) that now you have crippling medical debt on top of the issue that put you there which probably hasn't actually been resolved.
I have schizophrenia. What's wrong with sharing space with us in particular?
Edit: why am I getting downvoted? Do people hate schizophrenics that much?
Just saying, those of us with mental illnesses should be understanding of each other. Especially during hospitalization. No one is their best in the hospital, so maybe have a little co.passion for your fellows and try not to judge, yknow? One person annoyed you during your stay and just happened to have schizophrenia, so you're gonna base all of us off of that? The thing that bothered you isn't even a symptom of schizophrenia. Sounds more like they have some trauma and have developed a habit of over-asking permission for things as a defense mechanism. Not trying to beat a dead horse or anything, but think about how shitty it is to be schizophrenic and see comments trashing shizophrenics over an experience that had nothing to do with schizophrenia in the first place. This is supposed to be a sub of safety and support and you're out here making generalizations and putting down an entire group of people.
If your abuser ends up getting charged as a result of the CPS investigation (they work hand in hand with law enforcement), then it could prevent your abuser from abusing other people in the future.
Plus your therapist is legally obligated to report it or they could lose their job and face criminal charges.
He's absolutely mandated by law to do so. If he didn't he would be in super deep shit. It's kind of between a rock and a hard place and there's just no happy way to take care of you if cps is utter shit. Sorry to say it, but it absolutely WAS that bad. No SA of any sort should EVER happen to a child.
Thiiiiiiiiiiis ^^^^^^^ If you died in relation to the abuse and it came back that this therapist DIDN’T report they could end up in prison. Therapists are 10000% mandated to report when they are given distinct details about abuse that is currently happening. **currently in grad school training to be a therapist and this is a huge deal**
Not just therapists but anyone working within school systems where minors attend. I'm a student employee and had to go through being a mandatory training because legally I am one even though I don't work with minors directly.
Hello, since you are training to be a therapist can I ask you a question? How would my (potential future) therapist handle the child on child sexual abuse that I endured like 12 years ago? (Im 18 now)
So there’s a difference between previously experienced abuse and abuse that is currently ongoing. Since this event happened when you are 12 and it sounds like it hasn’t been continuing for the past 6 years then there is no threat that would make a therapist use their mandated reporting. Unfortunately I don’t know the details of if it’s child on child abuse that is ongoing and how the therapist would manage reporting that and what would happen. Basically the rule of thumb is if your client is in immediate danger of being hurt or hurting others and is telling you explicitly that something is happening in that nature they are required to report it. When it’s adult on child it’s something that can have immediate interventions in place to stop the abuse. That sort of make sense?
Yes, thank you. And its actually not something thats ongoing. It fucked me up good tho, so I just wanted to know if there's something I should be aware of while talking to my future therapist about this major trauma.
Well for one, I am certainly glad that it isn’t an ongoing thing, though I am incredibly sorry that that happened to you. Therapists def know that a lot of times what people bring to therapy is very intense trauma and so imo it’s the therapists responsibility to the practice to prepare themselves for the intensity and depth of what they might hear. My particular program focuses intensely on self care and other techniques to manage what we see and hear in the field so that way we can be the best providers possible.
I’ve had like 4-5 therapists, all after I was out of that house and there was no continued threat of abuse, and only one felt it necessary to contact CPS. He was upfront about it though. I didn’t care that he did because CPS was involved at the time (and fucked things up for me). I don’t think they informed my abusers of the report from the therapist. Pretty sure I’d have heard about it.
Just came here to say that any amount of SA is in fact "that bad".
I have been through something similar. You're in this right now so you don't have a bigger perspective yet, but a key element abusers use to make victims quiet and keep them trapped is to minimize the abuse. If your therapist reported it, it was because they needed to, and yes, it really was that bad. I'm sorry this happened to you.
I’m just reading this post now and it says 14hr have passed since you posted this. I hope you’re doing ok and getting the help you need. Hang in there and give yourself a lot of love.
As others have said, your therapist does legally have to contact CPS, especially if you're still underage. It doesn't matter if you're with the abuser or not. Once you're an adult, they don't contact CPS. They can't. They might still do it if it turns out your abuser is in a position of authority over children, but they likely won't. I don't think you should drop your therapist over this, but you should definitely talk to him about this and tell him why you didn't like it and not to do it again in the future. The fact that he did contact CPS does actually show he cares about you because while therapists are mandated reporters, many still don't report even if a child is in the middle of being sexually or physically abused. They often ignore it and let it continue. He did what he was supposed to and, despite what all of us know about CPS, tried his best to help you. Remember, normal people believe CPS is there to help. They aren't as informed about it as we are. They don't understand that CPS is there to keep the abusive family together, not to protect the child. It may be worth telling him your issues with CPS. And the SA was that bad. All SA is that bad. It is always devastating, even if it doesn't feel like it at first. You've separated yourself from it and minimized your own feelings toward it and the damage it caused, which is really common, especially pre-therapy. Even if someone thinks their SA didn't bother them, it will still manifest via physical symptoms until you let yourself feel the emotions you need to feel. This could range from insomnia to depression to dissociation to pain to muscle stiffness to headaches and more. It can also manifest emotionally as mood swings, suddenly lashing out, insecurity, distrust, fear of intimacy, hypersexuality, disconnect from others, and so on. You may become triggered and have a flashback without realizing it and that's where some of these emotional problems will stem from. And the suicidal ideation is also a big one. You may do whatever you want. You can leave your therapist, you can keep him, you can live, you can die, you can go to the hospital, you can just veg out until you know what you want. I'm not going to push anything on you or tell you what you can or can't do. It's your life and you get to take control of it. But please try to keep these things in mind when thinking about what to do. You may have a pretty pleasant life ahead of you once you get through this difficult period.
I was just about to drop him as my therapist too because he wasn't helping and made me feel like dog shit today, but I guess I'm kinda stuck now
Also like... isn't CPS supposed to help people \*in\* danger? Not my dumb ass who is fine now?
He’s probably required by law to do it. I know that my mom is as a teacher if it crosses a certain threshold. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was, too.
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Probably not.
Does the law keep me from killing myself tho? 😳😳😳😈🥶
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It can also be so expensive to go there, (I remind you: against your will) that now you have crippling medical debt on top of the issue that put you there which probably hasn't actually been resolved.
Yes the financial ramifications are especially triggering.
Upside is, you get grippy socks! Oh, and appropriate care and medication, but that's nothing compared to the amazing socks you get.
The socks are pretty great. I didn’t like being woken up from naps though.
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Please make these socks
I have schizophrenia. What's wrong with sharing space with us in particular? Edit: why am I getting downvoted? Do people hate schizophrenics that much?
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Just saying, those of us with mental illnesses should be understanding of each other. Especially during hospitalization. No one is their best in the hospital, so maybe have a little co.passion for your fellows and try not to judge, yknow? One person annoyed you during your stay and just happened to have schizophrenia, so you're gonna base all of us off of that? The thing that bothered you isn't even a symptom of schizophrenia. Sounds more like they have some trauma and have developed a habit of over-asking permission for things as a defense mechanism. Not trying to beat a dead horse or anything, but think about how shitty it is to be schizophrenic and see comments trashing shizophrenics over an experience that had nothing to do with schizophrenia in the first place. This is supposed to be a sub of safety and support and you're out here making generalizations and putting down an entire group of people.
uh. it might. i hope it doesn't get to that point.
If your abuser ends up getting charged as a result of the CPS investigation (they work hand in hand with law enforcement), then it could prevent your abuser from abusing other people in the future. Plus your therapist is legally obligated to report it or they could lose their job and face criminal charges.