Ch 4 Confidentiality: Ethical And Legal Issues

Question 1

Differentiate between confidentiality, privacy, and privileged communication

Answer 1

Confidentiality is rooted in a clients right to privacy. It is the counselors ethical duty to protect private client communication.

Privileged communication is a legal term that generally bars in the disclosure of confidential communications made to a psychotherapist from any judicial proceedings or court of law.

Privacy as a legal term, refers to the constitutional right of individuals to be left alone and to control their personal information.

Question 2

Clarify the purpose and limitations of confidentiality

Answer 2

Confidentiality is a clients right to privacy and a therapist’s obligation to protect that right. Also, when a client feels safe to share with the therapist, it is the therapist ethical obligation to assure the client of confidentiality.

The exceptions to confidentiality are the legal mandates to disclose private information about the client, or when the client has given consent to release information. Even in these cases only information that is sought should be disclosed while withholding any non-relevant information in any kind of request.

Question 3

What are the mandated exceptions to confidentiality and privilege communication?

Answer 3

• By court order
• by client waiver of a privilege
• when clients file complaints against her counselors
• when clients claim psychological damage in a lawsuit
• when civil commitment proceedings are initiated
• when statute involving child abuse or elder abuse mandate disclosure
• when clients pose a danger to others or themselves

Question 4

Within the context of confidentiality, When is it permissible to share information with others in the interest of providing competent services to clients?

Answer 4

• When the client request a release of information;
• when reimbursement or other legal rules require disclosure;
• when clerical assistants handle confidential information as in managed-care;
• when the counselor consults with experts or peers;
• when the counselor is working under supervision;
• when other mental health professionals request information and the client has given consent to share;
• when other professionals are involved in a treatment team and coordinate care of a client

Question 5

Explain the distinction between duty to warn and duty to protect.

Answer 5

Duty to warn requires a disclosure of confidential information to the person who is being threatened with harm.

Duty to protect provides a wayof maintaining clients confidentiality.

Mental health professionals have a responsibility to protect other people from potential he dangerous clients and to protect clients from themselves.

Duty to warn applies to those circumstances where case or law statute requires the mental health professional to make a reasonable effort to contact the identified victim of a clients serious threats of harm or to notify law-enforcement of the threat.

The duty to protect applies to situations in which the mental health professional has a legal obligation to protect an identified third-party who is being threatened.

Question 6

What charges of negligence can be made against a therapist who fails to protect the public from dangerous acts of violence by their clients?

Answer 6

1. Failing to diagnose or predict dangerousness;
2. Failing to warn potential victims of violent behavior;
3. Failing to commit dangerous individuals;
4. Prematurely discharging dangerous clients from a hospital