<p>The psychiatrist in this case may not have had a duty to warn, as his disclosure may not have indicated any actual plan or victim. It would appear by what we’ve read, Dr. Fenton thought Holmes was a possible danger to others. She apparently had two roles on that campus, one as psychiatrist and director of the counseling center, where her responsibility is to the individual students who came to see her for treatment, which likely includes medication. </p>
<p>However in her other rule, as the head of the BETA team, a campus threat assessment team, set up to protect the entire campus, she has the responsibility of reporting concerns to the team, convening the team, etc. so that the team can assess if they need to take any action to protect the campus. Those actions could include Dr. Fenton monitoring Holmes, but they could also be things like assessing whether others have reported fear of him, whether professors have noted inappropriate behavior in a classroom setting. I am on a team just like this in a corporate setting. The value of the team, is that you gather additional information about said student from others with different perspectives and disciplines. Typically a security, human resources and legal professional are also on the threat assessment team. </p>
<p>I suspect Dr. Fenton would have reported if there was a clear duty to warn, ie. he threatened to harm a fellow student, or family member. That is a fairly simple judgment call and I can’t imagine she would have had the knowledge and failed to warn. However after reporting an initial concern about Holmes to the BETA team, and then not convening said team, that would appear to be a mistake. Once an initial threat is identified the team has a responsibility to convene to determine if there is anything further to do. The fact that Holmes then withdrew from the university should have actually been a red flag of possible further deterioration, not a sign that it was out of their hands. It is a delicate balance being a treatment provider and also sitting on one of those threat assessment teams, as one must balance these issues.</p>