What's happening
This bill allows mental health practitioners to take reasonable actions to prevent imminent harm, protecting them from liability when done in good faith.
Why it matters
Clarifies the duty and discretion of mental health professionals. The bill spells out exactly when and how mental health practitioners may act if a patient threatens serious, imminent harm, defining what constitutes a credible threat and listing acceptable interventions, such as notifying potential victims or law enforcement.
Reduces legal risk for practitioners acting in good faith. By explicitly protecting professionals from civil, criminal, and professional misconduct liability when they make reasonable, good-faith decisions to disclose confidential information to prevent harm, it encourages clinicians to take protective actions without fear of legal repercussions.
Balances safety with professional judgment and practitioner safety. The law ensures practitioners are not required to act if doing so would endanger themselves or make the situation worse, empowering them to use their professional judgment in high-risk scenarios.
Potentially impacts confidentiality standards. While aiming to enhance public safety, the bill also creates clear exceptions to patient confidentiality when imminent harm is involved, which could affect how patients perceive privacy in therapeutic relationships.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Mental Health Workers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 38
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Mental Health Workers
In Assembly Committee · Mental Health · Sponsor Phil Steck
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2372
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 24, 2019
Introduced by Sens. CARLUCCI, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the protection of mental health practitioners
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 9.42 to read as follows: § 9.42 Efforts by mental health practitioners to reduce or eliminate
risks of harm.
(a) For purposes of this section, the term "mental health practitioner" shall include any New York state licensed mental health practitioner, including physicians, psychologists, registered psychiatric nurses and nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, when a person to whom a mental health practitioner is currently providing treatment directly communicates a threat of serious, imminent harm to self or against a readily identifiable person or persons, and the threat includes both a serious intent to act and the ability to carry out the threat, the mental health practitioner may make timely and reasonable efforts to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm. For purposes of this section, reasonable efforts may include, but are not limited to: modifying aspects of the treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm; initiating procedures for hospitalization; notifying the intended victim or victims; or notifying law enforcement officials.
(c) Whenever a mental health practitioner is required to make timely and reasonable efforts pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, he or she shall also comply with the provisions of section 9.46 of this article.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03568-01-9
S. 2372 2
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a mental health practitioner to take any action which, in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment, would endanger such mental health practitioner or increase the danger to a potential victim or victims.
(e) The decision of a mental health practitioner to disclose or not to disclose the patient's or client's confidential treatment information to others in accordance with this section, when made reasonably and in good faith, shall not be the basis for any civil or criminal liability of such mental health practitioner, including liability pursuant to unprofessional conduct as described in the rules of the board of regents of New York state, part 29.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the protection of mental health practitioners
Purpose or general idea of bill
To amend the Mental Hygiene Law to allow mental health practitioners working in private practice to make efforts to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm to an individual or individuals where a patient has made a threat or expressed a desire to harm an individual or individuals.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 adds a new section 9.42 to the Mental Hygiene Law which would impose a duty on mental health practitioners to make reasonable efforts to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm where a client directly communi- cates a threat of serious, imminent harm to self or against an identifi- able person or persons. Reasonable efforts, for purposes of this stat- ute, would include modifying the aspects of treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm, initiating procedures for hospitaliza- tion, notifying the intended victim or victims, or notifying law enforcement officials. This section also immunizes a mental health prac- titioner from civil or criminal liability where he or she determines a need to disclose information that is normally protected by patient or client confidentiality rules.
Section 2 sets forth an immediate effective date.
Justification
Psychologists are often the first to learn about the imminent threat of harm to a person or group of people, and can serve an important, front- line function in keeping the public safe. This legislation would provide psychologists with clear requirements for when and how they must deal with patients that make a threat of harm to a specific person, while being protected from liability.
Under current law, psychologists working in programs licensed by the Office of Mental Health and the Office for Persohs with Developmental Disabilities are subject to this duty to protect where a patient has conveyed a threat of harm. This legislation would extend that duty to practitioners in the private sector where a threat includes a serious intent to act and the patient has the ability to carry out that threat, making it more likely that a practitioner will take rapid, effective action to protect the public.
Prior legislative history
2017-18: S775A/A6849 - AMENDED TO MENTAL HEALTH/mental health
2015-16: S7424/A9484 - mental health/mental health
Fiscal implications
None to state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.