73. Murder Confessions, Confidentiality, and the Menendez Brothers Case

It's a true crime crossover episode! We brought on our attorney, Suzette Schommer, to discuss the Menendez brothers episode and what the therapist in this case did wrong, plus:

1. If a client confesses a murder (or another crime) to their therapist, is it true that the therapist bound by confidentiality and cannot tell anyone?
2. What does "duty to warn" mean-- who do you warn and in what situations must you do this? 
3. In the Monsters series (and in real life), the therapist breaks confidentiality by telling his girlfriend (and former client) about the confession. What should he have done instead?
4. Advice to therapists if they encounter this.

The Therapist Thrival Guide is a podcast by Ellie Mental Health. We want to move therapists beyond surviving and into the realm of THRIVING by covering all the things that graduate school didn't teach you! This mental health podcast is hosted by Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW and a rotating cast of seasoned therapists. Each episode features a therapist speaking to their areas of expertise, clinical interests, and personal experiences of being a therapist. This podcast will be covering topics like burn-out, self of therapist, cultural considerations, client retention, session structure, advancing clinical skills, innovations in therapy, and balancing professional relationships with our personal lives. Every now and then, we'll even cover the happenings of how therapists are portrayed in pop culture. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Barker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, MSW, LICSW, has been practicing as a therapist for nearly three years. She previously worked as a child protection investigator, adoption social worker, and case manager. She's loves soaking up all of the knowledge from the expert therapists in her life and at Ellie. She's currently the Director of Content and Production at Ellie Mental Health's in-house creative agency and believes that creativity is an important aspect of mental health care. The Therapist Thrival Guide is one of many creative productions from ⁠Ellie Mental Health⁠. Ellie is a national mental health brand organized around community-based outpatient mental health clinics. It all began with a single office in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2015, and since then has expanded to over 24 clinics in Minnesota and an explosive number of locations nationwide after franchising our model in 2021. Ellie will be opening over 500 locations in communities nationwide with new clinics opening each week. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#therapy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#mentalhealth