For many therapists, the word safeguarding can feel as though it belongs somewhere else, like schools, hospitals, social services, or the police.
And if you work independently with adults who appear perfectly capable of looking after themselves, you might think: what does safeguarding really have to do with my practice?
Quite a lot, as it turns out. Because the people who walk through our treatment-room doors don’t leave the rest of their lives outside. They may be experiencing illness, bereavement, financial difficulty, relationship problems, bullying, coercion, neglect, abuse or a period in which they are simply less able to protect themselves than usual.
And because therapeutic relationships are often built around trust, privacy and one-to-one attention, therapists can find themselves in a unique position: noticing that something has changed, hearing something a client hasn’t told anyone else, or simply having a sense that something isn’t quite right. That doesn’t mean therapists need to become investigators. But, it does mean that knowing what to notice and what to do next matters.
“Safeguarding isn’t about turning therapists into detectives. It’s about knowing what to look for.”
We spoke to Jihan Adem and Sue Holder, who teach Bowen College UK’s Practical Safeguarding for Therapists workshop, about the safeguarding situations therapists may encounter, the misconceptions that can prevent people from acting, and why a little knowledge can make such a significant difference.
Safeguarding might be closer to your practice than you think
One of the reasons Jihan wanted to develop the workshop was simple: safeguarding wasn’t something she remembered being meaningfully addressed within her original therapy training. Yet once she began learning more from Sue, she realised how relevant it could be. Sue’s perspective comes from a very different professional world. During her career with Devon and Cornwall Police, she worked in CID and child protection, including cases involving vulnerable children and adults, and alongside services including social care, probation, the courts and children’s organisations. For Jihan, combining that experience with decades spent in the therapy room highlighted a gap.
“When people hear safeguarding, they often immediately imagine a child who is being seriously abused, or an obviously vulnerable adult,” she explains. “But people’s vulnerability can look very different from that.”
And that distinction matters.
Vulnerability doesn’t always look the way we expect it to
One of the biggest misconceptions around safeguarding is that we will somehow know a vulnerable person when we see one. In reality, someone may appear confident, capable and independent while going through circumstances that make them more vulnerable than usual.
For example, illness can change someone’s ability to cope. Medication can affect them. Pregnancy or a major life change can bring new pressures. Someone might be experiencing difficulties at home, coercion within a relationship, bullying or financial problems.
None of those things automatically means that abuse or neglect is taking place, nor should we, as therapists, attempt to draw conclusions from a single change in someone’s circumstances.
The important thing, Sue explains, is developing enough awareness to recognise when something may warrant closer attention.
Perhaps a long-standing client suddenly seems very different in themselves. Perhaps something they say doesn’t quite sit right. Perhaps there is a pattern of small changes over several appointments. Safeguarding knowledge helps you understand what those observations might mean, and what they might not.
“People can be vulnerable for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes that vulnerability is long-term; sometimes it may be temporary.”
Some safeguarding concerns are much less obvious than others
Physical and sexual abuse may be among the first things that come to mind when we hear the word safeguarding. But safeguarding can encompass a much wider range of harm and neglect. One area Jihan remembers being particularly struck by during her own learning was neglect and acts of omission. This might include situations in which someone’s essential care needs are not being met. For example, necessary medication, food, heating or appropriate care being withheld or unavailable.
Equally, financial abuse can also be difficult to recognise. A change in someone’s financial circumstances does not necessarily indicate abuse, of course, but unexplained financial difficulty can sometimes be part of a wider picture worth being aware of. Children may present differently too. A child experiencing bullying, emotional harm or difficulties elsewhere in their life may never make a clear disclosure. What a therapist notices instead might simply be a change in behaviour or something mentioned almost in passing. This is where knowledge becomes important – as Jihan says:
“You don’t know what you don’t know. Then you learn about safeguarding and suddenly think: I’ve seen something like that in my clinic before.”
It is a response she and Sue hear surprisingly often from therapists attending their training.
Why the treatment room can be an important space
Therapists occupy an unusual position in people’s lives. Clients may see us regularly over months or years. Sessions usually take place one-to-one. There is time to talk. And, ideally, the treatment room feels calm, confidential and safe. Those conditions can create space for conversations that don’t happen elsewhere. A client may volunteer something important. A child may feel comfortable enough to mention something that has been troubling them. Or a therapist may simply notice that someone they know reasonably well no longer seems quite themselves.
“You’re creating an environment where somebody is hopefully able to relax, recuperate or heal,” says Sue. “That can put you in a unique position to notice when somebody may need help.”
It is not about searching for problems in every interaction, but it is about being prepared if something does arise.
“You could be the one person who makes a difference in that child or vulnerable adult’s life.”
For Sue, that is at the heart of safeguarding. During her policing career, she saw first-hand how significant it could be when someone noticed, listened and took an appropriate next step. A therapist’s role is very different from that of a police officer or social worker. But recognising that something may be wrong can still matter enormously.
You don’t need to solve the situation
Perhaps one of the biggest barriers to safeguarding is fear.
- What if I misread the situation?
- What if I say the wrong thing?
- What if I make everything worse?
- What if I report something and trigger consequences I didn’t intend?
Jihan and Sue hear versions of these concerns frequently. And this is where understanding the therapist’s role can actually make safeguarding feel less intimidating.
“You’re not putting your cape on and going to the rescue,” says Jihan. “This isn’t a situation for you to solve.”
Nor is safeguarding about interrogating clients or gathering evidence. The role of the therapist is to recognise when something may need attention, respond appropriately, make suitable records and understand where to go for advice or further action.
“You don’t have to solve the whole situation. You need to know how to respond.”
For many practitioners, simply having a process removes much of the anxiety. Instead of being faced with Something doesn’t feel right, now what?, you have a framework to work within.
If you work independently, who is your safeguarding lead?
This is another question many self-employed therapists may never have considered. In a large organisation, a practitioner who has a concern may be able to speak to a designated safeguarding lead. In an independent practice, there may be nobody sitting in the office next door.
“You are effectively your own safeguarding lead,” Jihan explains.
That can feel daunting if safeguarding was barely mentioned during your original training. But it also makes understanding your own procedures, boundaries and responsibilities particularly valuable. What information should you record? What should you avoid writing? Who can you speak to if you are uncertain? What happens if a client discloses something to you? And how do you look after yourself afterwards? These are much easier questions to answer before you are faced with a difficult situation.
Safeguarding protects the practitioner, too
We tend to talk about safeguarding in terms of protecting clients, and rightly so. But good safeguarding practice also gives therapists clearer professional boundaries.
Knowing what your role is — and equally, what it isn’t — can stop you carrying responsibility that doesn’t belong to you.
Clear procedures and appropriate record keeping can help practitioners respond consistently rather than making difficult decisions in the heat of the moment. And knowing where to seek support matters too. Safeguarding situations can be emotionally affecting. Therapists are human, and hearing something distressing from a client can stay with us long after they have left the treatment room. Being prepared includes knowing where you can go for guidance and support rather than feeling that you must hold everything alone.
Awareness creates choice
One comment comes up particularly often when Jihan and Sue teach the workshop:
“I didn’t realise that was a safeguarding issue.”
Sometimes participants recognise something that happened years ago. Sometimes the training makes them think differently about a situation currently unfolding in their practice.
The purpose isn’t to make therapists anxious or suspicious.
Quite the opposite.
Knowledge means that instead of freezing because you don’t know what to do, you have choices.
You can notice.
You can listen.
You can record appropriately.
You can seek advice.
And, where necessary, you can take the appropriate next step.
As Sue puts it:
“Without awareness, you can’t act.”
And sometimes a relatively small action by someone who noticed can make an enormous difference to the person sitting in front of them.
Building confidence around safeguarding
Bowen College UK’s Practical Safeguarding for Therapists workshop grew out of Jihan and Sue’s belief that this knowledge should be a normal part of professional therapy practice.
It brings together Sue’s extensive safeguarding experience within policing and child protection with Jihan’s experience of working and teaching within the therapy profession.
Rather than being a pre-recorded course, the workshop is taught live and interactively. This gives participants the opportunity to work through real-world scenarios, ask questions and explore the grey areas that can be difficult to understand from guidance alone.
The workshop looks at:
- what safeguarding actually means in therapeutic practice
- different forms of abuse, neglect and vulnerability
- signs and situations therapists may encounter
- how to respond to a concern or disclosure
- appropriate reporting and record keeping
- the therapist’s own professional boundaries and wellbeing
- where to find further help and support
Participants receive a CPD certificate alongside resources they can return to afterwards, as well as the Bowen College UK Safeguarding Seal to demonstrate their commitment to safe professional practice. But perhaps the most important outcome is harder to display on a certificate.
Confidence.
Not confidence that you will have every answer. Confidence that if something doesn’t feel right, you won’t have to look the other way simply because you don’t know what to do next.
