Hi Joyous,

I'm not a psychotherapist, so I don't know the legal ramifications of this question. But I would think this would be an extremely problematic issue for both the therapist and the client if it were to arise in the course of therapy. My guess is that the therapist would encourage the client to turn themselves in to authorities, and confess to the murder, with such a significant crime....because if they truly did murder somebody in the past, the client has proved they can indeed be a danger to somebody else, and in a lethal way. The possibility exists that the client can repeat the behavior if they've done so previously. If the client isn't willing to turn themselves in, I would imagine the psychotherapist may need to consider the possibility of reporting the crime to authorities, even though it breaches client/patient confidentiality. But this is a highly unusual situation! In my experience, therapists work very hard indeed to maintain confidentiality with their clients, and encourage the client themselves to take care of the issue (with appropriate followup) in a situation where they might possibly have to breach confidence, so that the relationship is maintained with the best possible integrity.

Take care,
ErinBear