Ethical Considerations of Duty to Warn (3HR)

Consider this scenario: A client tells their therapist that they wish someone was dead. How does a therapist ethically and legally handle this situation? Therapists have legal and ethical responsibilities to both their clients and the greater society. Many mental health professionals face challenges determining the best course of action when clients make threats toward others. This training will present a history of duty to warn laws and an examination of the Tarasoff Rule. Case vignettes will illustrate various situations that therapists may encounter when clients are expressing threats, violence, or harm to others. Learners will be provided with concrete and ethically sound practices to increase their confidence in managing duty to warn dilemmas.

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

• Identify relevant state law and professional ethics regarding duty to warn responsibilities.
• Discover methods of assessing and intervening with potential duty to warn concerns and client potential for violence.
• Demonstrate increased confidence in mitigating client violence and following ethical and legal mandates regarding the duty to warn.

Social workers completing this course receive 3 Ethics asynchronous continuing education credits.

For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 3 hours of Ethics, Clinical, and General Skill Building continuing education training.

Course Instructor: Diane Bigler