Thank you everyone for your feedback of all sorts. After speaking to a physician (MD) about this situation, I have decided to proceed with the report.

I do want to note one thing. I do NOT apologize for checking to see if the voicemail issue had been resolved. I did not listen to any voicemails by any clients (or anyone else), even for a second, and hung up immediately after it was clear a password was not yet set. Had she resolved this situation in a timely manner, I would have no interest in reporting her as glitches in technology do happen. I believe it is the only moral thing to do for me to report this concern to protect the confidentality of her other clients and ensure the ethical issues in her practice are addressed. In fact, as a mental health professional myself, I have an obligation to do so.. but this obligation honrstly isnt the greatest motivator for my report.

amandalouise, I think that if you read the ethical guidelines for psychotherapists/psychologists of most types (phd, lcsw, lpc, etc), and in the vast majority of states, you will find that there is indeed a very clear expectation that client's privacy be protected whenever it is possible to do so, by whatever steps are necessary. I think we all know that voicemail/answer machine systems with password protection exist.. I bet most of us here have this on a cell, home, or office phone of our own. The fact that she has chosen not to obtain such a machine OR chosen not to take the time to set it up correctly is not an excuse that justifies failure to protect confidentality. I suppose you may be right that there are extremely rural areas in the country and world where phone service is more limited, but that certainly does not describe my area, and even if it did, I'm pretty certain the licensing board for any therapist would still expect that therapist to make all reasonable attempts to ensure confidentiality, not just say "oh well" and let it go. I do appreciate your thoughts and questions though, and I did think on your points before making my decision to report.

Thank you again everyone.