Is a Therapist Required to Report a Client's Disclosure of Past Child Abuse?

Attorney Answer

Yes. Utah's mandatory reporting statute covers abuse that has been committed in the past, not only abuse that is ongoing, and therapists are not among the narrow group of people exempt from it.

Utah Code § 80-2-602 provides that a person who has reason to believe that a child is, or has been, the subject of abuse or neglect shall immediately report it to the Division of Child and Family Services or to the nearest peace officer or law enforcement agency. The phrase 'is, or has been' reaches a disclosure about past conduct on its face.

The statute exempts only two categories: a member of the clergy, as to a confession made in a ministerial capacity, and an attorney, along with the attorney's employees. Licensed mental health therapists are not on that list, so ordinary therapist-client confidentiality does not displace the reporting duty here.

Because what you are describing could become a criminal matter involving you, the sequence matters. Getting legal advice before you speak, rather than after, is the part of this you still control.

What you can do

1. Go into the appointment understanding that this disclosure will very likely trigger a mandatory report, rather than expecting confidentiality. 2. Speak with a Utah criminal defense attorney first — the statute's attorney exemption means that conversation is treated differently from a disclosure to a therapist. 3. Ask that attorney how a report would affect you, what the realistic consequences are, and how the timing should be handled. 4. Do not assume that saying nothing is automatically the right answer either — get advice on the whole picture before deciding. 5. If you do go forward with the disclosure, be prepared for a report to authorities to follow quickly.