Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) therapists who are involved in judicial proceedings report feeling alone and overwhelmed. Therapists need more training in the area of legal proceedings. Seeking to fill this gap, this workshop will explore the intersection of trauma and testimony for CAC therapists who receive subpoenas and/or testify in court. Specifically, this workshop will facilitate understanding the intersection of working within systems involved with childhood sexual abuse and other forms of child maltreatment. A decision tree regarding disclosing confidential client information for court purposes will be presented. This workshop aims to equip therapists with information regarding legal proceedings and therapy practice from an advocacy lens. This workshop will balance the experiences of participants with clinically sound didactic information, stressing the need to be intimately familiar with their codes of ethics and state laws and regulations.
Learning Objectives:
Explain the difference between a therapist acting as a fact witness or an expert witness
Utilize an advocacy-oriented decision-making process for sharing information in court
Describe strategies for testifying in court in cases of childhood sexual abuse
