Definition: A term referring to the responsibility of a counselor or therapist to inform third parties or authorities if a client poses a threat to himself or herself or to another identifiable individual. Legal duty to warn was established in the case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976, where a therapist failed to inform a young woman and her parents of specific death threats made by a client. The young woman was subsequently killed and her family sued the therapy provider.
Duty to warn gives counselors and therapists the right to breach confidentiality if a client poses a risk to another person.
Duty to warn gives counselors and therapists the right to breach confidentiality if a client poses a risk to another person.
