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20×102mm Vulcan
Here's why N.J.'s new gun law has therapists worried for their patients
It is one of the tougher decisions a mental health professional has to make.
How do you determine when or if you should alert police about a patient who may pose a danger to themselves or others, knowing that the patient is confiding in you?
The protocol is called "Duty to Warn" and it is one of the few circumstances when a mental health practitioner can break confidentiality and use their discretion when a patient makes a threat.
But a bill -- recently passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on June 13 -- upends the "Duty to Warn" guidelines and now requires mental health professionals in New Jersey to always call authorities when a suicide threat or a threat against another person is made.
"If someone is imminently suicidal, and there is no risk of guns, a large number of people are going to be reported to the chief of police unnecessarily," said James S. Wulach, a Springfield Township-based psychologist and the former president of the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA).
The intent of the bill, according to one of its sponsors, is to get guns out of the hands of anyone threatening harm to themselves or others. Under the bill, law enforcement can potentially take away the guns of patients who pose a threat or prevent them from obtaining firearms in the future.
More at ...
Here's why N.J.'s new gun law has therapists worried for their patients
It is one of the tougher decisions a mental health professional has to make.
How do you determine when or if you should alert police about a patient who may pose a danger to themselves or others, knowing that the patient is confiding in you?
The protocol is called "Duty to Warn" and it is one of the few circumstances when a mental health practitioner can break confidentiality and use their discretion when a patient makes a threat.
But a bill -- recently passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on June 13 -- upends the "Duty to Warn" guidelines and now requires mental health professionals in New Jersey to always call authorities when a suicide threat or a threat against another person is made.
"If someone is imminently suicidal, and there is no risk of guns, a large number of people are going to be reported to the chief of police unnecessarily," said James S. Wulach, a Springfield Township-based psychologist and the former president of the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA).
The intent of the bill, according to one of its sponsors, is to get guns out of the hands of anyone threatening harm to themselves or others. Under the bill, law enforcement can potentially take away the guns of patients who pose a threat or prevent them from obtaining firearms in the future.
More at ...
Here's why N.J.'s new gun law has therapists worried for their patients
