Final answer:
True, therapists have a legal duty to warn an individual when a client makes a serious threat against them. This is derived from the precedence set by the Tarasoff case.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the duty to protect principle, if a client makes a serious threat to harm an identifiable other, the therapist has an obligation to warn the person at risk. This legal duty was established in the landmark case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976), which set the precedent that mental health professionals have a responsibility to protect individuals who are being threatened by a client. It's imperative that therapists take any serious threat seriously, involving appropriate authorities if necessary, and that they take steps to warn the potential victim or take other reasonable measures to ensure their safety.
In response to the statement, No one willingly chooses what is harmful to themselves, it is necessary to understand that individuals may not fully grasp the potential harm their actions could bring upon themselves or others. Furthermore, the statement When a person does harm to others, they actually harm themselves, suggests that harmful actions can have negative consequences for the perpetrator, such as legal repercussions or personal guilt, which may ultimately harm them as well.