What Are Adverse Childhood Experiences?

Take our Your Mental Health Today Test

Find a therapist near me

Mandated reporting can drive families out of therapy without improving child safety.

Fear of CPS involvement prevents some children from seeking treatment at all.

Therapist discretion could focus resources on severe abuse while preserving trust.

“I guess I can’t get therapy then.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something like this from an adolescent client. Having worked in schools, the Medi-Cal (Medicaid) system, and community organizations, I’ve practiced therapy with thousands of children and families. It’s tragic when one-size-fits-all governmental regulations prevent therapy from being successful.

If you don’t know, “mandated reporting” is a legal requirement for therapists and many other professions working with minors, including teachers, physicians, and in California, now even school volunteers. If a mandated reporter becomes aware of child abuse, they are legally obligated to report that abuse to the government.

This mandate is well-intentioned and, on paper, sounds helpful. Why not report abuse and have authorities come in and put a stop to it? Well, not only is that not how it works in practice, but the very existence of the law prevents a........

© Psychology Today