Dealing with disclosure and risk of harm

During the course of a session, the person may disclose information about illness, risk of harm to themselves or others, or about a criminal act.
It is likely that your organisation will already have a policy which you should follow to deal with such disclosures.
The following principles and scenarios provide some additional pointers for consideration.

1. Principles

Many issues of disclosure can be supported in a similar way to information requests that come through normal routes, i.e., through active listening, matching information resources to needs and checking that the person has understood.

Where there is a risk of harm or actual harm to a vulnerable person – e.g. a child, someone with mental ill health, old age, frailty or physical disability, visual or hearing impairment you have a duty to report to the local authority / social work. If a crime has been committed – e.g. theft, violence, you have a duty to report to the police.

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Scenario 1: disclosure of health issue