Duty to Warn

Eric Harrison is a student at Southern University at New Orleans where he is pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. After getting into a physical altercation with another student Sherman Hill, he was given the option of seeking treatment for anger management or face expulsion. This is not the first such incident Harrison has been involved in and thus he is in danger of losing his athletic scholarship because fighting violates the criterion for eligibility. Orin Grant, a clinical social worker, has been working with Harrison for 3 weeks and found him to be a volatile personality. Harrison is anxious today because he is awaiting the decision from the scholarship committee on whether or not to take his scholarship. During the course of his session Harrison comments to Mr. Grant that if he loses his scholarship Sherman Hill might lose his life. Mr. Grant knows that Eric has access to firearms because his father is an avid hunter. Having been forewarned of a potential threat, what is the next course of action Mr. Grant should take?
Duty to Warn
Working in mental health is a challenge particularly when working with clients who may pose a threat to themselves or others. Given the unpredictable nature of the population it is very likely that in the course of professional practice providers of behavioral health services will encounter clients who threaten the safety of others. Ever since the unprecedented Tarasoff vs Regents of the University of California (1974) case which involved the stabbing death of college student Tatiana Tarasoff by infatuated acquaintance Prosenjit Poddar (Gehlert & Browne, 2012). Poddar disclosed to his psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Moore of his plans to kill Tarasoff because she did not return his affecti...

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...e should contact Sherman Hill to inform of the threat made on his life and by whom. Campus police should in turn pick up Mr. Harrison and escort him to the New Orleans Police department who through an interview will conclude whether he posed a legitimate threat.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the APA (6th Edition). Washington DC: APA Press.
Corbin, J. (n.d.). Confidentiality & the duty to warn: ethical and legal implications for the therapeutic relationship. Retrieved from http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles
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Gehlert, S. & Browne, T. (2012). Handbook of health social work (2nd Edition).
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National Association of Social Workers (2008). NASW Code of Ethics: Guide to the Everyday
Professional Conduct of Social Workers. Washington, DC: NASW.