What is the Tarasoff duty and when does it apply?

• A. Duty to notify law enforcement regardless of risk.
• B. Duty to warn or protect potential victims when a client poses a credible and serious risk of harm; applicability varies by jurisdiction.
• C. Duty to maintain client confidentiality at all times.
• D. Duty to report every mental health issue to licensing board.

Answer: (D)

The Tarasoff duty is the clinician’s obligation to take steps to protect a potential victim when a patient presents a credible, serious risk of harming someone identifiable. This duty arises from the idea that confidentiality has an exception when there is a real danger to others. What counts as a credible and serious risk, and what steps to take, can vary by jurisdiction—for some places the required action is warning the potential victim, for others it may include contacting authorities or taking other protective measures. The key is that safety of third parties can override confidentiality when there is a clear danger.

This is why the option describing a blanket duty to report every mental health issue to a licensing board isn’t correct, and the statements about always notifying law enforcement or always maintaining confidentiality don’t fit Tarasoff, which centers on warning or protecting a specific potential victim when there’s a credible threat and on when confidentiality may be overridden.