Standard 1.3: Mandatory Reporting

Confidentiality is an essential element of psychotherapy; however, there are circumstances in which another duty overrides confidentiality. One such area is mandatory reporting. Several laws require registrants to report information for the purpose of preventing or responding to harm. These laws include but are not limited to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act; Long-Term Care Homes Act; Retirement Homes Act; Health Professions Procedural Code; and Personal Health Information Protection Act.

Registrants are responsible for familiarizing themselves with their legal reporting obligations. For example, registrants are required to report sexual abuse of a client by another RP or health professional. Registrants are also required to report a child in need of protection.

Registrants use judgment in deciding whether and what to report. It may be helpful to consult with supervisors, colleagues, legal counsel, or CRPO’s Practice Advisory Service. Registrants may also consult the organization to which the report may be required. Additional information about mandatory reporting to the College can be found in the related resources below. CRPO has also published guidance on Disclosing Information to Prevent Harm linked in related resources below.

Registrants may need to ask follow-up questions to clarify whether a situation requires a mandatory report; however, it is not the registrant’s role to investigate in depth. Most mandatory reporting obligations only require reasonable grounds to suspect an event may be occurring, not definitive proof.

Making a mandatory report can damage the therapeutic relationship. Registrants use judgment in deciding when and how to inform a client about a mandatory report. Some mandatory reports (e.g., reporting sexual abuse by another regulated health professional) must be made without identifying the client, unless the client has given their written permission.

Registrants do not file complaints or reports that are trivial or for ulterior purposes. A complaint or report made in good faith to protect vulnerable parties, or the general public, is appropriate. A complaint or report made to further a civil dispute, to retaliate against a business competitor, or made knowing it likely has no validity, is inappropriate and may rise to the level of slander in some cases. Repeated complaints on the same matter may be considered frivolous and vexatious. Abusing the complaints or reports process is unprofessional, unfair to the other registrants, and a waste of regulatory resources.