Problem:
Working with trauma is demanding, but also raise legal and ethical considerations, where a therapist must know the implications for self and how their actions can affect wellbeing and professional reputation. As part of the assessment process, therapist determines risk of suicidality and harm to others (Briere & Scott, 2025). In high-risk cases, the authors suggest involving emergency services and close family members. This action is aligned with Duty to Warn ethical code but breaks confidentiality (CCPA, 2020). Moreover, clients' right for confidentiality is protected by Personal health Information Protection Act (Government of Ontario, 2025). If therapist made a wrong assessment and breaking confidentiality was unwarranted, it could lead to a legal action against them. Informed consent is another legal and ethical obligation in therapy (Government of Ontario, 2023). However, clients experiencing trauma symptomatology can present disorganized, under an influence of alcohol or other substances, or too overwhelmed (Briere & Scott, 2025). This can impair their ability to understand implications of consent and its limitations. When parents bring a traumatized child to therapy, they, too, need assistance in comprehending the concept of consent, because often they are in a rush to help their child, have clouded judgement, and have uninhibited trust in therapist (Mailloux, 2014). Is there an ethical concern with not engaging in thinking about the client in distress after the session? References Briere, J. N., & Scott, C. (2025). Principles of trauma therapy: Need Assignment Help?