Grimes, Tinsley Holloway
(2024)
Duties in Retrospect: Ethical Limitations to the Psychiatrist’s Duty to Warn.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California established that mental health professionals in California have a legal duty to seek to protect individuals who are foreseeably endangered by violent patients, including warning them of threats of harm. In the wake of this landmark case, many other states mandated legal duties to protect in general, or warn specifically, either through statute or case law. At the same time, an ethical discourse emerged, challenging the duty to warn on the grounds that it forces physicians to breach confidentiality, an ethical obligation fundamental to medical practice. This thesis examines the origins of the legal duties to protect and warn, the consequences of these duties to the practice of psychiatry, and the conflict between legal and ethical obligations to patients and the public. Although psychiatrists have a professional obligation to maintain patient confidentiality, this obligation may be set aside in the interest of public safety. However, limitations in predicting violence thwart the psychiatrist’s ability to recognize when confidentiality should be set aside. Ultimately, imposing a mandatory legal duty to protect, and specifically a duty to warn ignores the complexity surrounding patient violence. Permissive laws are more sensible, but even these may not prevent violence, making them less justifiable ethically.
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Details
Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
Status: |
Unpublished |
Creators/Authors: |
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ETD Committee: |
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Date: |
27 August 2024 |
Date Type: |
Publication |
Defense Date: |
2 August 2024 |
Approval Date: |
27 August 2024 |
Submission Date: |
7 August 2024 |
Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
Number of Pages: |
47 |
Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Bioethics |
Degree: |
MA - Master of Arts |
Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
Refereed: |
Yes |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
ethics, confidentiality, role morality |
Date Deposited: |
27 Aug 2024 11:32 |
Last Modified: |
27 Aug 2024 11:32 |
URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46872 |
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