Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) therapists 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 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 participants’ experiences with clinically useful didactic information, stressing the need to be intimately familiar with their codes of ethics and state laws and regulations.
Learning Objectives:
After this workshop, participants will be able to explain the difference between a therapist acting as a fact witness or an expert witness
After the workshop, participants will be able to utilize an advocacy-oriented decision-making process for sharing information in court
After the workshop, participants will be able to describe strategies for testifying in court in cases of childhood sexual abuse
