Pre-Trial Therapy
Support through the Criminal Justice Process

What is pre-trial therapy?
Pre-trial therapy describes any therapeutic support and/or specialist support given to children or adults during a criminal justice process. There are a set of principles to follow when providing victims with services during a criminal investigation and before a criminal trial, as described by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). At FearFree a number of 1-1 support services and groups for parents/carers and children/young people are included within the definition of Pre-Trial Therapy Services.
The CPS first published guidance around pre-trial therapy in 2001. At this time, there were two sets of guidance the first relating to adults ‘Provision of Therapy for Vulnerable or Intimidated Adult Witnesses’ and second for children ‘Therapy: Provision of Therapy for Child Witnesses Prior to Criminal Trial’ (CPS, 2002).’
Pevious guidance placed several restrictions on therapy services around disclosure and the types of treatment that could be accessed, and this created several barriers to victims in need of care. Following a review, the CPS in 2022 published new guidance which sought to clarify and enable access for victims to therapy, without impacting on criminal justice processes. The CPS also drafted an accompanying note specifically for therapists.
CPS Statement to victims
On publication of the new guidance the CPS made the following commitment to victims in need of pre-trial therapy:
“You may be having or thinking about having therapy or counselling to help you recover from your experiences. We are clear that you should receive, as soon as possible, effective treatment and therapeutic support to assist your recovery. Therapy should not be delayed for any reason connected with a criminal investigation or prosecution. If you receive therapy before a trial the police must only collect notes from your therapist or therapy provider in pursuit of a reasonable line of enquiry. It will only be a reasonable line of enquiry if there is some reason to believe that the notes will contain material relevant to the case. This is important in making sure there is a fair trial process. The information may also help us to build the case or be in a better position to respond to issues raised by the defence.”

Key messages from CPS Guidance 2022 on Pre-Trial Therapy
- Therapists and victims are encouraged to jointly agree on what type of therapy is best and when is the right time for such therapy. Neither the police nor the CPS may decide this.
- If a victim decides therapy would be helpful for them, it should not be delayed for any reason connected with a criminal investigation or prosecution.
- The CPS guidance explores the benefits of therapy for victims engaging in the criminal justice process.
- Certain therapeutic approaches may present challenges for the criminal justice process and victims should be informed of this by their therapist.
- Therapy notes can be requested by the police or prosecution if justification is given that they form part of a reasonable line of enquiry and with the consent of the victim (or their parent/carer).
- Therapists, investigators, and prosecutors must comply with data protection legislation when processing therapy notes.
- Only in exceptional circumstances can a court order the release of notes against the wishes of the victim (or their parent/carer).