Duty to Warn and Duty to Protect

What Are Duty to Warn and Duty to Protect?

These related but distinct obligations arise when a client communicates a credible threat of serious harm to an identifiable person:

• Duty to warn: The obligation to directly notify the potential victim of the threat
• Duty to protect: The broader obligation to take reasonable steps to protect the potential victim, which may include warning the victim, notifying law enforcement, or pursuing involuntary hospitalisation

The distinction matters because your state may impose one, both, or neither — and the required actions differ.

Legal Foundation: Tarasoff and Beyond

The landmark Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) established that mental health professionals have a duty to protect identifiable third parties from serious harm threatened by their clients. Since Tarasoff, states have enacted varying statutes:

• Mandatory duty to warn states: Therapists must warn identified potential victims
• Mandatory duty to protect states: Therapists must take reasonable protective action (warning is one option among several)
• Permissive states: Therapists may break confidentiality to warn or protect, but are not required to
• No specific statute: Some states rely on case law rather than statute

You must know your specific state’s requirements. The wrong action — or inaction — can result in both liability for harm and licensing board complaints.

When the Duty Is Triggered

The threshold varies by jurisdiction, but typically requires:

• A specific, credible threat of serious physical harm
• Directed at an identifiable victim (or in some states, a reasonably foreseeable victim)
• Imminence — the threat must be current, not hypothetical

General statements of anger (“I could kill my boss”) without specific intent, plan, or imminence typically do not trigger the duty. Conduct a thorough risk assessment to inform your clinical judgement.

What to Do

1. Conduct a formal risk assessment and document your findings
2. Consult with a colleague or your licensing board’s ethics consultation line
3. Take the action required by your state (warn the victim, notify law enforcement, pursue hospitalisation, or a combination)
4. Document everything: the threat, your risk assessment, your consultation, and the actions taken

Documentation

Your clinical record should show:

• The specific statement or behaviour that triggered your concern
• Your risk assessment process and conclusions
• Any consultation obtained (with whom, when, and their input)
• The action you took and your reasoning
• Notification to the client about the limits of confidentiality (documented at intake)

This documentation demonstrates that you followed a reasonable clinical process — the standard against which your actions will be judged.