If a client tells you he plans to slash his neighbor's tires, you should:

Prepare for the LPCC Law and Ethics Test 2. Use flashcards and multiple-choice questions with explanations. Enhance your understanding of ethics and legal standards for effective counseling practice.

Maintaining confidentiality is appropriate here because the client’s stated plan involves vandalizing property, not harming a person. The duty to warn or protect typically applies when there is a credible threat of serious harm to an identifiable individual. A threat to damage a neighbor’s tires doesn’t meet that standard, so there’s no ethical obligation to disclose the information or to alert the neighbor or authorities solely on that basis.

What you would do instead is continue to work with the client on risk assessment and management. Explore the underlying motivations, discuss the potential consequences of carrying out the plan, and help the client develop safer, lawful ways to cope with whatever is driving this intent. You can also discuss crisis resources and safety planning with the client.

If the situation escalates to a credible threat of violence against a person, or if there is imminent danger to someone, then the duty to warn or protect would come into play, and disclosure or notification could be warranted. But with a plan to vandalize property alone, confidentiality remains ethically appropriate.