Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) established the duty to:

• A. Duty to report assault
• B. Duty to obtain consent
• C. Duty to Warn
• D. Duty to maintain confidentiality

Answer: (C)

Key idea: clinicians must breach confidentiality to protect others when there is a credible threat from a patient. Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) established that therapists have a duty to warn a identified potential victim when a patient conveys a credible intention to harm them. The duty can also involve taking reasonable steps to protect the person, which may include notifying authorities or arranging for treatment or confinement of the patient. This duty to warn (or protect) is an exception to the general rule of maintaining confidentiality, designed to balance the patient’s privacy with public safety. The other options don’t capture that interventionist obligation: warning a specific potential victim is the decisive action Tarasoff requires, not merely reporting assaults, obtaining consent, or keeping information confidential without regard to risk.