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Originally Posted by ADPi95
Great points and general threats are very difficult to much of anything, as well as those that are not already being observed by counselors/therapists. And you're right, most wouldn't be honest if they knew they would be reported. This is why it's a frustrating debate/argument. Do we protect the privacy of those that make threats (and by that, I mean those that name specific victims and have a history of violent behavior, which is VERY common in my experience) or do we protect those we know are in danger?
There was one case I worked on where this individual had already been arrested and convicted several times for assault. He had also been arrested/convicted for stalking harassment of a teacher. While on probation, he told his court mandated therapist that as soon as he got off probation, he was going to get a gun and kill his former teacher. The therapist alerted us out of courtesy, but refused to write a report (which the judge needed). Because of that, I had the unfortunate job of telling the victim that she had been threatened (again), but there was nothing we could do. We couldn't get a probation violation, nor a threat charge, nothing... This happens more than people care to think.
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That is the exact example of a change that should be made. Unfortunately as I said, many therapists are poorly trained. Most have little to no training in forensic psychology so deciding when someone is at risk for violence is not something they are educated to deal with. The prior history of violence is a red flag and should have been the discriminator to put this patient back. That is one most important things in determining risk...a history of violence. I know you have a very hard job. It must be very frustrating. I know NY means well, but their new law will make it very difficult for mental health practitioners, especially as they are a huge talk therapy area. Can you imagine the sheer number of calls they'll get just on the suicidal ideation threats?