Duty to warn: Who ya gonna call?

Abstract

This chapter looks at duty to warn and breach of confidentiality. Although law enforcement professionals are members of one of the most stressful occupations, they are often reluctant to seek mental health treatment. This incident involves a mental health counselor, Jason, who has been receiving urgent telephone calls from Helen, a police officer's wife. Helen is a 38-year-old woman, married for 13 years to the officer. They have two elementary school-age children in the home. Helen has been calling on a daily basis for a week to report that her husband has been drinking heavily and is "abusive." We are all feeling anxious about a potentially volatile situation. Children are involved, as well as a man with a history of threatening and angry behavior, a possible substance abuse problem, and a weapon. In addition, Helen is putting others in her workplace at risk for violence. In supervision, there is additional discussion about the counselor's own personal biases and values concerning Helen's choices. The counselor was unsuccessful in convincing the woman to follow her safety plan and to keep the situation from escalating. The decision is made to notify the security division at the woman's workplace of the potential for violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved). (create)