Knowledge of and compliance with privileged communication and child-abuse- reporting laws.

Mental health practitioners have been criticized for possessing less than adequate knowledge of their legal obligations. An exploratory survey involving 98 respondents was conducted to assess whether this criticism was justified. Results show that a significant proportion of psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers are unaware of 2 of the most basic laws that apply to their professions: the right of privileged communications and the requirement of reporting child abuse. With regard to the latter, it is shown that even among those practitioners who are aware of it, a majority still refuse to comply with it in a hypothetical case. This survey suggests that a significant proportion of mental health professionals are either ignorant of or ignore their legal obligations. The pressing need for more adequate graduate and continuing professional training in these matters is emphasized. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)