Under Tarasoff, when must LPCC warn or take steps to protect an identified potential victim?

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.

The key idea is the duty to warn or protect that arises when there is credible, imminent risk of serious harm to an identifiable victim or group. When a client makes a threat that you reasonably believe is real and directed at a specific person (or a clearly identifiable group), you must take steps to prevent harm. Those steps typically include warning the identified victim and/or notifying law enforcement, and in some cases taking action to protect the potential victim (such as facilitating hospitalization or other safety measures). This obligation isn’t triggered by vague worries or non-specific concerns, and you don’t need a court order to act. Identifiable means you can reasonably name or locate the person, and imminent means the danger is imminent or likely to occur in the near term.