Risk management and life-threatening patient behaviors.
This article reviews the legal and ethical issues that arise in the treatment of patients who may pose a threat to harm themselves or others. The recent practice of developing empirically validated treatments has not yet been applied to the diagnosis and treatment of patients who present an imminent danger of harm to themselves or others. Instead, psychologists must follow standards that come primarily from court cases or statutes. Although these standards have some degree of commonality across North America, psychologists are encouraged to be informed about local laws and court cases.
VandeCreek
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School of Professional Psychology, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA.
Knapp
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D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D017007:Duty to Warn; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011584:Psychology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*