A Duty to Warn?

The Goldwater Rule prohibits psychiatrists and psychologists from diagnosing anyone unless they have examined the patient personally. But some health care professionals insist that another ethical concept trumps the Goldwater Rule: the duty to warn others if a patient is a threat. The “patient” in question is Donald Trump, and these professionals have decided to warn the world that he is dangerously mentally ill. They’ve even written a book: Rocket Man: Nuclear Madness and the Mind of Donald Trump. We hear from both sides on this contentious issue: Dr. Charles Dike of Yale, who defends the Goldwater Rule, and Dr. John Gartner, who taught for many years at Johns Hopkins, and who is one of the founders of the group Duty to Warn.