authorities

[alla]

What authorities are referred to in this text:

Topic: therapy / confidentiality / US

An exception is in cases of exceptional violence to another, especially in child abuse or threats to murder, where the therapist is required to report such knowledge to the authorities.

prosecutor's office?

[thod00]

Whatever agency is responsible. I dont know what that would be called in your country.

But if you were a psychiatrist and a patient told you that he was abusing children, there is some official body you could tell. They would make him stop lock him up etc. The same would be true with murder, you would go to the police. The people that need to be told may differ depending on what he is doing.

They use 'authorities' as a generic term to cover all such official agencies.

[Barb_D]

I'd say the simplest answer is "the police," but I certainly don't disagree with anything said above.