Therapists in Court provides a clear and useful summary of what to do when faced with legal processes and will be extremely helpful both to counselors called to provide evidence in court and to lawyers who wish to refer their clients for support during the legal process or afterwards.”

-Sarah J. Head, Client Support Manager, Alexander Harris Solicitors

“It is extraordinary that no such work already exists. I predict that Therapists in Court will become not just useful but indispensable to all practitioners, not least because of the accessible and jargon-free language in which the law is conveyed. Ultimately, clients will be the beneficiaries of a better informed profession.”

-Marcel Berlins, Barrister, Author of “The Law Machine”, Media Law Module Leader at City University London, and Guardian Legal Correspondant

Therapists in Court is the first in a series of handbooks providing legal guidance for practitioners from all the talking therapies, including counseling, psychotherapy and psychology. For many practitioners, becoming involved in a court case is a frightening and disturbing experience. The tone of legal letters and the adversarial atmosphere of a courtroom is very different from the usual working environment of therapists.

Therapists in Court is written for practitioners who come into contact with the legal system through their work. Providing practical guidance backed up with illuminating examples, the book is an invaluable source of information in situations such as responding to a solicitor's letter, supporting a witness in their preparation to appear in court, and being called as a witness.

Counselling Child Witnesses

Counselling child witnesses

Therapists working with child victims and witnesses of crime have an increasingly difficult job on their hands. As well as coping with the emotional impact of their ordeal at the hands of their perpetrator, victims also frequently have to deal with the traumatic experience of coming into contact with law enforcement agencies and taking legal action against their offender. The latter can be described as secondary victimisation at the hands of the legal system. Even where therapists attempt to help clients in addressing and resolving these problems, their efforts are hampered by the constraints of legal rules relating to the contamination of evidence (Williams, 2002: 116). Furthermore, where a trial is still ongoing, the therapist is sometimes drawn into the ...

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