Post-Tarasoff legal developments and the mental health literature

Since Tarasoff first established the duty of psychotherapists to warn or otherwise protect third parties when a patient is considered dangerous, the mental health literature has continued to address the two most controversial issues in that case: the questionable ability of clinicians to predict violent behavior, and the role of confidentiality in psychotherapy. The author examines recent trends in the law in light of this research and concludes that so-called anti-Tarasoff statutes recently passed by some states appropriately take into account the mental health literature and effectively balance competing public policy concerns.