18301. DUTY TO WARN AND PROTECT IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the mental health care professional’s duty to warn and protect someone else from any imminent dangerous actions of the client. The legal and ethical scope of the professional’s duty to warn and protect is described with reference to Tarasoff and other relevant case law. The professional’s duty to warn and protect is analyzed in terms of its impact on issues of patient confidentiality and the privileged communications between therapist and patient. KEYWORDS: tarasoff psychiatric patients duty to warn. Written 2007. Strict APA Style. 12 pages, 46 footnotes, 21 bibliographic sources plus legal references. 4,417 words.