17/04/2026
This is significant, important and welcome news.
🚨 COUNSELLORS: This change could encourage more of your clients to seek justice — and stay in therapy while doing it.
👉 Watch now: https://youtu.be/WL_3M-A1Mgw?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=new-police-guidance-on-accessing-counselling-records
One of the hardest conversations in practice: a client who has survived abuse decides to report it to the police — then asks whether their counselling notes will be handed over. For many, that fear alone has been enough to make them withdraw.
New draft guidance in England and Wales, effective January 2026, changes this. Police can no longer routinely request victims' counselling records. Any request now needs to be necessary, proportionate, and relevant — and must be authorised at chief inspector level.
Ken and Rory break down exactly what this guidance covers, where it applies, and what it means for your day-to-day practice.
If you work with survivors of sexual abuse or r**e, this one's essential viewing.