On October 27th of 1969, after returning home from a summer in Brazil, University of California at Berkley student, Tatiana Tarasoff was repeatedly stabbed and killed by a fellow classmate, Prosenjit Poddar. As tragic as the crime itself was, more tragic was the fact that it could have been prevented. Poddar had developed an unhealthy obsession with Miss Tarasoff during the year leading up to her death. Her continuous rejection of his advances sent him spiraling into a deep depression. He was encouraged by friends to seek treatment at the University’s student health center. During his course of therapy Poddar revealed to his counselor his intentions to kill Tatiana. Though the therapist did take steps to prevent the tragedy from occurring such as, asking for the weapon, calling campus security and requesting an emergency psychiatric evaluation, he failed to warn Tatiana herself, the intended victim. After her parents sued the University for negligence, the California Supreme Court ruled that “when a therapist determines, or should have determined, that a patient presents a serious danger of violence to another, the therapist then has a ‘duty to protect’ that third party” (Dimone & Fulero, 145-147). However, the Tarasoff doctrine is vague as written, given very little direction to practitioners in how to carry out their legal obligation while still remaining ethically responsibly to their client. A leading ethical challenge in the mental health profession today involves maintaining client confidentiality and protecting the public from harm (Corey Et Al, p. 230). Mental health professionals have an ethical duty to protect a client’s confidences. In fact, most view confidentiality is paramount to the hel... ... middle of paper ... ...tion with the client to address any concerns or questions regarding the topic. References Corbin, J.R. (2007). Confidentiality and the duty to warn: Ethical and legal implications for the therapeutic relationship. The New Social Worker, 4-7. Corey, G., Corey, M.S. & Callahan, P. (2007). Confidentiality: Ethical and legal issues. In Brooks/Cole (8th Ed.), Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions pp. 208-264. Duty to warn: A question of loyalty varies by state (2004, January). Contemporary Sexuality, 38(1), 4-6. Simone, S. & Fulero S.M. (2005). Tarasoff and the duty to protect. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 11(1/2), 145-168. Walcott, D.M., Cerundolo, P. & Beck, J.C. (2001). Current analysis of the Tarasoff duty: An evolution towards the limitation of the duty to protect. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 19, 325-343.
The phrase primum non nocere (‘‘first, do no harm’’) is a well-accepted ideology of the medical and mental health professions. Although developing research data indicate that several psychological treatments may produce harm in significant numbers of individuals, psychologists have until recently paid little attention to the ethical issues of hazardous treatments. The Ethics Code of the America...
As a student new to social work, The Code of Ethics written by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is in the forefront of my mind whenever practicing my freshly learned skills. According to the Code, these rules were written as the “values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). Within my most-recent session, certain aspects of this code were relevant, including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, a commitment to the client, the dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity and competency of the worker, and social diversity.
Over the course of their therapeutic relationship, Dr. Davenport violates client confidentiality as it is described by the American Counseling
Moreover, ethical issues are ubiquitous within the field of social work. As such, social workers employed in all facets of the profession, whether it is substance abuse, mental health, among many others encounter ethical issues common and specific to each area. According to the article “Ethical Issues in Addiction Counseling” by Cynthia G. Scott (2000), prominent ethical situations specific to the field of substance abuse include, “confidentiality and privileged communication” (p. 213). In her article Scott (2000) discuss the blurred boundaries of confidentiality with regards to group counseling. The author points out the discrepancy in federal confidentiality laws that prevent the practitioner from sharing confidential information disclosed
Without exception, confidentiality trumps duty to warn, court rules (2004). Mental Health Law Report, 22 (6), 53. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=GRCM&docId=A120474886&source=gale&userGroupName=clemson_itweb&version=1.0
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (1998). The New NASW Code of Ethics Can Be Your Ally: Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=96
Formulating boundaries, while not always easy to do, is often necessary in order to protect the practitioner from allegations of malpractice, negligence, or any other type of ethical violations for that matter, including breaches in confidentiality. Unfortunately, since ethics are not clearly defined in terms of simply black-or-white or right-or-wrong, it becomes that much more difficult to determine where one line of the professional boundaries starts and another begins. The result of these inconsistencies tends to be somewhat
Corbin, J. (n.d.). Confidentiality & the duty to warn: ethical and legal implications for the
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. (8th
In today’s society with the blogs, the gossip sites and the other forms of social media, confidentiality is a thing of the past. However, for, physicians and other health professionals, they are held to a higher standard to maintain a level of ethics and confidentiality for their patients. Confidentiality is a major duty for a health professional, but is there ever a time to where it is okay to tell what a patient says in confident? What if the patient is a minor, or a senior citizen or someone who is mentally challenged? What if a patient is being abused or wants to commit suicide? Does it matter if it is a nurse, or a dentist, or a psychologist or is all medical professional held to the same moral standard? What roles does a consent form or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act plays in the medical world in being confidentiality? I would like to explore Confidentiality and the moral effects it has on the health profession.
However, there are some cases that professionals have to rely on the Law. The Law is different from moral principles and Code of Ethics and its focus is on the legal perspective to protect the professional. The Law is defined by Remley and Herlihy (2010) as “general or specific regarding both what is required and what is allowed of individuals who from a governmental entity” (p.4). One major example is the Tarasoff and the Duty to Protect which is a law that was created after the case that happened with a university student, Tatiana Tarasoff and her boyfriend. Tarasoff’s parents sue the psychotherapists alleging that the professionals should have warned the student. Because of this case, the law raised a major concern that the confidentiality that professionals should follow according to the ACA and AMHCA Code of Ethics has to be broken when there is an issue that can affect a third party in the situation. Like the AMHCA refers to confidentiality as “a right granted to all clients of mental health counseling services. From the onset of the counseling relationship, mental health counselors inform clients of these rights inclu...
Medical records and their contents have been an important issue concerning privacy for physicians and their patients. A health care reform bill which passed legislation in 1996 is known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) had a new rule put into place in 2000, which requires health care physicians and insurance providers to put into place new procedures that would guard patient health information ("Patient Privacy and Confidentiality", 2013).
Doctor patient confidentiality, is a fundamental element of the practice of medicine. Patients can expect that doctors and their support staff will hold confidential information about them in confidence, unless the release of the information is required by law or for public interest reasons. Ensuring confidentiality is retained allows doctors to examine their patients and receive all relevant information about their condition without a worry of judgement or sharing of the information.
Koocher, G.P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
In my work as a Counsellor, I am very aware of how important trust is in the therapy room. Some clients come ready to share but for others it takes time to recognise that they are in a safe space where their secrets are safe and they can be vulnerable. I feel honoured and greatly respect the trust shown each time a client says the words ‘I have never told anyone this…’