Tarasoff Legislation Paper

Clients have the right to confidentiality. Counselors cannot share information about clients without shared consent. Counselors throughout treatment process must inform clients when confidentiality can be breached (Mears, G., 2010). If a counselors foresee that a client is a danger to himself or others confidentiality must be broken.

One of the most important concepts in the field of social work and psychology is known as the duty to warn and duty to protect. Duty to warn mandates mental health professionals to break client confidentiality when they believe their client may harm. The duty to warn became a law in 1974 when the California Supreme Court ruled that mental health professionals must have the duty to protect a victim if the therapist believes that not warning them would protect them, the therapist must notify the police or other authorities. There is a debate around duty to warn; many therapists feel that some threats may not be credible. For example, a patient telling his therapist that they could just kill their mother for grounding them from all their electronics

Before a counselling session starts it is important that the client understands confidentiality. To be able to understand this the counsellor must explain to the client that anything they say within the

However, it is not always that simple and there may be some instances when it is not possible to maintain total confidentiality and the counsellor my have to pass on certain information that was revealed. For example, if a crime has been committed or if there is a risk of harm to another person. In this case the counsellor must be clear with the client what information they may have to pass on and to whom.

Professional counselors and their staff are exposed to sensitive client information and records. The helpful receptionist and whose privilege videos, show how to apply both the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (ACA Code of Ethics) and state board counseling laws to common ethical scenarios. The content explores aspects designed to call attention to favorable and unfavorable skills and techniques in handling such matters. These two videos demonstrate the limitations of confidentiality and privileged information. As a professional counselor one is expected to uphold the principles of confidentiality and privilege according to the ACA Code of Ethics and state laws. One may conclude that the helpful receptionist video shows clear violations of confidentiality. While the whose privilege video indicates the significance of insuring that counselors comprehend state laws and ethics codes pertaining to confidentiality and privilege. Furthermore, counseling professionals are held accountable for violating ethics codes and state laws as well as training staff on informed consent.

I selected the article “Duty to Warn and Protect: Not in Texas” for review, as it applies to the state in which I reside. The article cites Texas Health and Safety Codes, based on a 1999 Texas Supreme Court ruling that states counselors do not have a duty to warn or protect. Having a duty to warn and protect is defined as protecting clients or others from perceived harm (Jackson-Cherry & Erford, 2014). An example would be that a client tells their counselor in a confidential session that he is considering stabbing his ex-girlfriend. The duty to warn would mean the counselor should notify authorities and the ex-girlfriend thus breaking confidentiality. The duty to protect would be to admit client to a facility for the client to be assessed for a propensity for violence towards the ex-girlfriend. This became important after a 1969 incident where a counselor, had a client expressed harm towards a girl and the counselor contacted the authorities, yet never contacted the girl, who was subsequently killed by the client a few months later, known as the Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California case (Jackson-Cherry & Erford, 2014).

They may interact with psychiatrists who are medical doctors. They may have relationships with other counselors with whom the may collaborate, confer or refer to another counselor or professional as needed. Counselors may have a need to help a client get in touch with another type of service such as a social worker or rehabilitation facility. A counselor may give advice to another counselor if their opinion is sought out. If a counselor works within a facility as part of a team they may be interacting with any number of professionals involved within the care of a particular client. Being cognizant of what the role is as a counselor is constant. Counselors will establish boundaries depending on these roles (Remley & Herlihy, 2016). Counselors will also develop relationships with employers, supervisors and

There are several ethical dilemmas that the mental health professionals that are working as a team will face including “ensuring that the client has given informed consent, maintaining client confidentiality, and involving professionals, paraprofessionals, and family in appropriate coordinated processes that benefit the client” (Paproski & Haverkamp, 2000, p.96).

The ethical dilemma I wish to explore is The Duty to Warn. This refers to the duty of a counselor, therapist to breach one of the most important bonds between a client and a therapist; the law of confidentiality. The therapist has the right to break confidentiality without the fear of being brought up for legal action. If the therapist believes that the client poses a danger, or is a threat to himself, someone else, or society as a whole, the therapist must decide how serious of a threat the client may be, then if he decides it’s a serious issue, he must notify the person in danger, which would e the third party, or the police, or other people who may be in the

If a client threatens to harm an individual, leaves the mental health professionals office, the professional attempts to contact the victim but can not reach them, and the client harms that individual minutes to hours later, the professional could possibly be held liable. The state of Kentucky protects the mental health professional against any liability for such a situation to occur, but as stated in the readings, the “duty to warn” guidelines vary from state to state. Due to the sensitivity of the situation, there might be confusion between the confidential information that a client provided and if it breaks the code of ethics to inform an individual in society something that the client revealed in confidentiality. If a client makes a statement that they have feelings of hurting someone but their statements are lacking real intent, the client might feel as though their relationship with the professional is damaged and that they can not trust them any longer. The responsibility of warning a potential victim is burdening in itself being that in such cases where the professional or third party authorities can not get a hold of the victim and something happens resulting in fatality, those that were aware of the threats prior could suffer from post-traumatic

In a court-mandated therapy, “the professional is responsible for informing them of the services to be provided, the court order for services, and the attendant limits on confidentiality in this situation.” “Because it is the legal right and ethical responsibility of the counselor to protect the client and make sure they make a correct and good decision on their behalf, the next steps in the name of the court and therapist at that point is to help the client see the positive attributions of therapy.

Because of the doctors’ profession, a psychiatrist must abide by the ethic of nonmaleficence when it comes to their patients. This article is true, “When conflicts occur among psychologists’ obligations or concerns, they attempt to resolve these conflicts in a responsible fashion that avoids or minimizes harm” (Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, n.d.). For this profession, this is very important because their judgment can have a serious effect on a person mind. If there were no ethics to guide them not to do no harm, psychology could become an unethical profession within the health care system. This ethic could also be the reason for the raise of concern that Dr. McHale has for the detainee.

It comes to no surprise that ethics governs the diagnostic process for several reasons. To diagnose a client means to define in professional terms the nature, boundaries, and intensity of a problem a client brings to counseling. In order to achieve diagnosing clients in the most efficient manner, one must use a procedure referred to as an assessment. There are several different assessment procedures that have been developed to help assess diagnosis. Assessments are articulated in a variety of ways; and the more accurate the assessment of the problems, the more likely those problems will be successfully resolved. According to Welfel, “we overall cannot treat what we have not identified” (Welfel, 2015).

Perhaps the most difficult dilemma occurs when there are conflicts between the clinician’s values and the client 's behaviors. Professionals know that if a client threatens suicide or homicide, there is a duty to report. But most of the daily concerns that arise are not so simple. Ethical issues come up in numerous, seemingly insignificant ways.

The greatest single source of ethical dilemma in counseling results from questions of confidentiality. As indicated above, confidentiality brings into sharp focus the issue of the counselor 's responsibilities to the profession, to the institution or agency that employs the counselor and, most of all, to the individual seeking help.