JudiB said:
Am looking for legal info about steps one might take in a stalking situation. A psychologist is being stalked by an ex-client. What should he do first? How does he report it? Like driving to the police department, calling the Police, etc.
That can vary a lot from one state to another, especially the terminology. (E.g. some states have "restraining orders," which are usually broad--I mean they can cover a lot of things, a lot of types of stalking; some have "protection from abuse orders," which, as the name implies, are used only where there's some history of violence or threats of violence, most often in domestic or sexual relationship cases).
I can recommend a book, "The Gift of Fear," by Gavin de Becker -- he's a security consultant, and he's written a few books to teach his methods to the general public. That one's got a TON of real-life stories in it, so it could give you lots of ideas. I once met a woman at a party who told me that book saved her life -- she was being stalked by a psycho ex when she read it.
As for the specifics, though, if I were you I would go right to the source: contact a police officer (e.g., drop by the station in person at a time when it's not too busy) or call your local courthouse to ask. Just say you want to know how to get a restraining order. (Even if that's not the term they use in your state, they should know what you mean.) You could even tell them why you're asking--you're a writer, in your story a counselor's getting stalked, etc. Ask a cop what advice he would give to a counselor in that position, what options she would have, etc. I've found that most people, when you ask them something related to their job, are very helpful and happy to talk to you about it--people love feeling like they know interesting things that other people want to talk with them about!!