United States v. Glass (1998) and United States v. Hinckley (1981)
Both the United States v. Glass (1998) and the United States v. Hinckley (1981) cases produced the therapist’s awareness for concern to pertinent questions regarding the appropriate processing of disclosing information during therapy sessions. For instance, what should a psychotherapist or mental health professional do when his or her client declares the intent to cause serious harm to a person? What if the intended target appears to be untouchable? Does that deem the threat to be viewed as one of a frivolous nature? Should the therapist take the chance to consider the threat as such or should he or she take the appropriate actions to safeguard potential victims? These two cases …show more content…
When the clinician breaks the rules of confidentiality with or without disclosing the limitations of said agreements as detailed, he or she is then likely to be faced with a malpractice suit. Malpractice suits are usually filed in this instance, because personal information was disclosed without just cause or the client’s permission and/or knowledge. The atmosphere of the counseling sessions is supposed to be therapeutically developed out of the grounds of trust, confidence and full transparency where candid disclosures of personal information about the client are safely revealed. It is a space where clients can proverbially let his or her hair down to remove arduous layers of armor self-designed to work as a shield to block blows from the obstacles plaguing his or her life. Quite often, these burdens work to encapsulate, entrap or deceive clients into believing that he or she will never find brighter days ahead. So, as progress begins, the belief formed throughout the sessions is that he or she can safely and confidently speak to an experienced professional clinician who will safeguard him or her from others knowing revealed secrets and the deep, dark details which was otherwise locked in a closet for no one to see, know or hear (Capuzzi & Gross, 2011). Remley and Herlihy (2016) explained that “confidentiality is a strong moral force that helps shape the manner in which counselors relate to their clients” (Remley & Herlihy, 2016, p.