Working in private practice means holding full clinical and legal responsibility when a safeguarding issue arises. Without an organisational Safeguarding Lead or a multidisciplinary team down the hall, independent practitioners must navigate the complex intersection of client confidentiality, clinical ethics, and legal duties entirely on their own.
Generic safeguarding courses rarely address these specific dilemmas, leaving many psychologists and therapists uncertain about how to manage high-risk decisions safely.
The New Mandatory Reporting Law
The new mandatory reporting legislation introduced this April (under the Crime and Policing Act 2026) establishes a strict statutory duty for reporting child sexual abuse in England.
This change directly impacts independent healthcare and psychological providers. Failing to comply with these new mandates, or failing to understand the thresholds for reporting, carries serious professional and regulatory implications.
Moving from Uncertainty to Defensible Decision-Making
For most clinicians, the challenge isn't identifying abuse or spotting a concern; it is knowing exactly how to act under pressure and how to make decisions or know where to go next when the information isn't clear cut. People often say to me that they are still really scared of getting something wrong and ending up in a fitness to practice complaint.
Common practical questions include:
Managing disclosures: How do you handle a disclosure in the moment without accidentally compromising the integrity of potential evidence?
Navigating thresholds: Where is the line between managing clinical risk within the therapeutic alliance and hitting the point of a statutory referral without consent?
Robust documentation: How do you ensure your records are up to par if scrutinised?
To manage risk effectively, independent practitioners need a clear understanding of what they need to do, how to do it and when. I think this is ably assisted by understanding how statutory social care and police systems operate in practice, which is also why I wanted to bring together Police and Social Work to contribute to this comprehensive training.
Master Your Safeguarding Duties with Confidence
Don’t wait for a complex clinical crisis to test your knowledge. Our live, 4-hour Safeguarding Training for Therapists UK is a masterclass specifically tailored for independent practitioners, with a new extended day long version in the pipeline.
Co-delivered by me: Dr. Rebekah Eglinton (Consultant Clinical Psychologist), a former Child Protection Police Officer, and a Consultant Social Worker, this session is the training I wish I’d had 20 years ago.
👉 Click here to view upcoming dates and secure your ticket today.