Do therapists have to report physical abuse?

[starry3yedgrl]

Comments

[sistahraven]

It depends on your state (I'm unfamiliar with Michigan laws), situation, and therapist, to be honest. If you're under 18, most states legally require therapists to report ANY abuse. If you're over 18, the lines get fuzzy. Most therapists understand that if a couple is coming to them for counseling to *stop* the abuse, reporting the abuse is counterproductive; it breaks the trust of the couple with the therapist, and it halts any progress the abuser would be making, by disrupting his routine, etc. However, if a therapist feels your life is in imminent danger, almost all of them will report it

[starry3yedgrl]

Thank you so much, I will google what you said about state mandated laws and will definitely check out the workbook. You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but was your husband at all abusive to you earlier in your relationship? I ask because I wonder if there is hope for us.

I love him very much and I know he loves me, and I believe that if I claim to love him, I have to love all of him including his bad sides. I want to marry him someday, and I don't feel I could ever take that vow of through good times and bad if I am not willing to at least try to get us help and work through the problem. Again, you totally don't have to answer that question if you don't want to, and thanks for the advice.

[sistahraven]

He has never been physically abusive with me, though in a previous relationship (I was friends with him at the time), he would reach a point of grabbing his partner out of anger. That partner was abusing him verbally, constantly, and they most assuredly brought out the worst in each other. His anger most often manifests itself verbally. Without treatment, he very well could have become an abuser, especially if he stayed in an unhealthy relationship instead of into a healthy one