Immunity is provided for from suit relating to disclosure of confidential information.Ī licensed professional counselor may not reveal any communication revealed by their client when the client has employed the counselor in a professional capacity. The duty shall be discharged by making reasonable efforts to communicate the threat to the victim or victims and to a law enforcement agency. There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action shall arise against, any person who is a licensed marriage and family therapist in failing to predict and warn of and protect from a patient's violent behavior except where the patient has communicated a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim or victims. No monetary liability and no cause of action may arise against a counselor who breaches confidentiality or privileged communication in the discharge of their duty as specified in this chapter. If there is a duty to warn and protect under the limited circumstances specified above, the duty shall be discharged by making reasonable efforts to communicate the threat to the victim or victims and to a law enforcement agency. There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action shall arise against a licensed professional counselor or associate licensed counselor in failing to warn of and protect from a client who has communicated a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim or victims. Read MoreĬounselors and licensed psychologists and psychiatrists.Ĭonfidential relations and communications between licensed psychologists, licensed psychiatrists, or licensed psychological technicians and their clients are placed upon the same basis as those provided by law between attorney and client.Ĭonfidential relations and communications between a licensed professional counselor or a certified counselor associate and client are placed upon the same basis as those provided by law between attorney and client. Mandatory reporting laws, say some professionals, may discourage people from seeking professional help or fully disclosing their intentions or providers may be reluctant to treat potentially violent patients because they fear liability for failure to properly fulfill the duty to warn. The American Psychological Association has advocated allowing mental health workers to exercise professional judgment regarding the duty to warn and not to unnecessarily expand “dangerous patient” exceptions. This case triggered passage of “duty to warn” or “duty to protect” laws in almost every state as summarized in the map and, in more detail, in the chart below. The Regents of the University of California. California courts imposed a legal duty on psychotherapists to warn third parties of patients’ threats to their safety in 1976 in Tarasoff v. One exception springs from an effort to protect potential victims from a patient’s violent behavior. With some exceptions codified in state and federal law, health professionals can be legally liable for breaching confidentiality. Under ethical standards tracing back to the Roman Hippocratic Oath, doctors and mental health professionals usually must maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed to them by patients in the course of the doctor-patient relationship. 15, 2013, moves that state's law from a permissive to a mandatory duty for mental health professionals to report when they believe patients may pose a danger to themselves or others but protects therapists from both civil and criminal liability for failure to report if they act "in good faith." New York's new law also allows law enforcement to remove firearms owned by patients reported to be likely to be dangerous. (Note: Please see chart below for update.) Those laws are receiving increased attention following recent mass shootings, such as those in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn. Most states have laws that either require or permit mental health professionals to disclose information about patients who may become violent.
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