Tarasoff liability: its impact for working with patients who threaten others

Mason, Tom

doi:10.1016/s0020-7489(98)00003-0

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…FSP articles expressed concern about the ability of psychiatry to assess risk and to control violent behavior. The community, legal professionals, and the media expect psychiatrists to predict and prevent violent behavior (Mason, 1998;Stark et al, 2004), an unrealistic expectation (Hodgins et al, 1996); this should be carefully clarified. The Patients' Rights Guide (SES, 1999) states that medical information should be protected through professional secrecy and, consequently, should not be divulged in newspapers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Two-Year Cross-Sectional Study on the Information About Schizophrenia Divulged by a Prestigious Daily Newspaper

Dubugras¹,

Evans‐Lacko²,

Mari³

2011

Journal of Nervous &Amp; Mental Disease

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Media is an important source of information about mental health for the public. The current study analyzed the information about schizophrenia divulged by the largest Brazilian newspaper. A content analysis examined articles on health and news involving affected individuals or suspected cases. The articles were rated against indicators of poor quality reporting and of effective health communication. The presence of myths was examined. The search identified 687 articles, 75 of which fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were selected. The themes with the highest number of articles were mental disorders and violence, treatment, and etiology. Three articles described the social inclusion stories of affected individuals. The coverage addressed genetic factors, drug-induced psychosis risk, and antipsychotic benefits, which may contribute to stigma reduction toward treatment. However, the articles divulged stigmatizing messages, and the entire complexity of the disorder was not discussed. Dangerousness was a common theme, which may invalidate positive messages about social inclusion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Two-Year Cross-Sectional Study on the Information About Schizophrenia Divulged by a Prestigious Daily Newspaper

Dubugras¹,

Evans‐Lacko²,

Mari³

2011

Journal of Nervous &Amp; Mental Disease

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“…Few court rulings have had the impact on clinicians as has the 1976 case of Tarasoff v. California Board of Regents decision (Mason, 1998). In the United States, some states impose an actual duty to warn based on the Tarasoff case.…”

Section: Homicide-suicide and Duty To Warnmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Tarasoff decision has been widely critiqued in the psychiatric and legal literature as an empirical study of private law in action (Givelber, Bowers, & Blitch, 1984), malpractice countersuits (Taub, 1981), a household word in American mental health circles (Wexler, 1979), Tarasoff liability (Mason, 1998), and a reconsideration (Herbert, 2002). We describe the Tarasoff decision and cases related to it.…”

Section: History Of the Tarasoff Liability Decisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homicide-Suicide and Duty to Warn

Burgess¹,

Sekula²,

Carretta³

2015

Psychodynamic Psychiatry

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This retrospective study of medical examiner records from three counties reported on 252 persons who killed 302 victims before killing themselves and reviews the Tarasoff ruling that set the standard for duty to warn and/or protect third parties whose lives are threatened by a patient. The three sites varied significantly for the perpetrator in terms of race, employment, cause of death, and motive. Female offenders killed more children under the age of 10 and adolescents than did male offenders. Evidence of premeditation included suicide notes and weapon brought to the crime scene, while strangulation indicated a spontaneous domestic homicide. Implications for practice are discussed including the importance of evaluating violent thoughts, fantasies, and behaviors in acute emergency settings and recommendations include second opinion consultation for Tarasoff-type cases and psychological autopsy review for completed homicide-suicide cases.

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“…However, each one of the options has serious concerns. Involuntary admission may well incapacitate the patient from committing harm but the accuracy of the predictions is notoriously poor which may mean extended incarceration inappropriately (Mason, 1998).…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic multidisciplinary perspectives of Tarasoff liability: a vignette study

Mason

Worsley

Coyle

2010

Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology

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This study reports on 40 completed vignettes of the Tarasoff liability with 10 from each of the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work and nursing. The sample was forensic practitioners in the North West of England. The data were analysed for their content on several key words and terms that related to the Tarasoff case and each disciplines major zones of relevance in relation to the decisions required at each point in the unfolding scenario. The results showed a similarity of issues across the disciplines in relation to confidentiality, assessment and informing for the duty to protect. However, differences occurred in relation to the focus of that informing as a means of abrogating responsibility in the nursing discipline whilst the other groups accepted their responsibilities in relation to informing to protect the potential victim.

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Tarasoff liability: its impact for working with patients who threaten others

Cited by 8 publications

References 13 publications

A Two-Year Cross-Sectional Study on the Information About Schizophrenia Divulged by a Prestigious Daily Newspaper

A Two-Year Cross-Sectional Study on the Information About Schizophrenia Divulged by a Prestigious Daily Newspaper

Homicide-Suicide and Duty to Warn

Forensic multidisciplinary perspectives of Tarasoff liability: a vignette study

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