The Duty to Protect

COPYRIGHTED ASHTON BOHANNON

Abstract

This discussion includes basic ethical and legal standards for professional counselors who are involved in situations with dangerous clients. The duty to protect should be viewed as an extremely important role. Professional counselors can be extremely influential in these situations, impacting the situation and changing the situation from life or death. When a client has the potential to harm another person or multiple people within society, mental health providers should break their confidentiality agreement with their client in order to protect the lives of other people who may be in danger. Confidentiality is necessary for a healthy relationship with a client, and it is also legal and ethical. However, if a client is putting himself, herself or another person at risk then the confidentiality agreement should be altered to match the current situation. If a mental health provider fails to take necessary steps to achieve a level of protection and safety to anyone in harms way, then they are liable ethically and legally for the situation that occurs thereafter.

Keywords: Ethical standards, Legal standards, Duty to Protect, Violent Clients.

A Duty to Protect

“It is important that human services professionals, when faced with potential duty to warn or protect scenarios, understand their legal obligations. However, duty to warn legal statutes can be difficult to interpret and often vary across mental health professions and states” (Ivers & Perry 2014). In Virginia under the Va. Code §54.1-2400.1, mental health providers are expected to take precautions to protect any third party from harm that could be inflicted by a violent client. Under this code, mental health providers are relived of their duty when they inform law enforcement and take necessary steps to ensure the safety of others. In the ACA's standards under section B.2.a. serious and foreseeable harm regulations, counselors should inform any identifiable person of the potential threat the client may have. I am obligated to inform all involved and potentially involved parties of a client’s violent behavior. These situations are often life or death, and they can be life-changing for all parties involved. Even though counselors are expected to protect a client’s confidentiality, they are also expected to protect the community and any person who may be harmed by a client. This responsibility to protect society is greater than the confidentiality agreement with the client, because it involves the preservation of life itself.

References:

American Counseling Association (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Ivers, N., & Perry, R. (2014). A Time to Tell? Legal Issues Regarding the Duty to Warn and Protect. Journal Of Human Services, 34(1), 70-81.

NCSL Staff Research; Edwards, Griffin S. Database of State Tarasoff Laws, February 2010; Soulier, M., et al. "Status of the Psychiatric Duty to Protect, Circa 2006." J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 38:457-73, 2010.

Virginia Board of Certified Counselors https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/counseling/