1.74
(1 pts.) You are a therapist and one of your clients has just told you that he is planning to murder his neighbor. Based on the principle of "duty to warn" what is the primary thing you should do?
A) Ignore your client's threat.
B) Notify the potential victim's family.
C) Hospitalize the client immediately.
D) Notify the potential victim of the person's intent.
(my answer is "D Notify the potential victim of the person's intent") am i right?
Yes, you are correct.
The correct answer is D) Notify the potential victim of the person's intent.
The duty to warn is a legal and ethical obligation for mental health professionals to notify potential victims when a client poses a serious threat of violence. This principle is also known as the Tarasoff duty, named after the landmark Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California case. This duty overrides the general principle of confidentiality in order to protect the potential victim from harm.
As a therapist, your primary responsibility in this situation would be to take the threat seriously and ensure the safety of the potential victim. Therefore, you should inform the potential victim as soon as possible, so they can take appropriate steps to protect themselves. It is also important to involve the appropriate authorities, such as the police, to ensure the safety of everyone involved.