Compassion fatigue refers to the negative consequences associated with working with traumatized individuals. When a crisis occurs, school psychologists are often the first to respond to the mental health needs of the children, frequently exposing them to the intimate details of the crisis and increasing the risk of compassion fatigue. The aim of…

Well-prepared school nurses are more likely to handle emergencies properly. Thus, assessing crisis management preparedness is important. In August 2014, a questionnaire was sent to 275 nurses in a large Texas school system to collect data about nurse and school characteristics, emergency frequency and management, and equipment availability.…

Critical incidents, such as human or natural disasters, can have profound effects upon children and young people, and upon the adults who work with and care for them. Educational psychologists have contributed to and led the development of critical incident response teams to support those affected. This study sought to develop understanding of the…

Background: Patient safety has become a priority and prerequisite for the provision for effective quality care. Simulation is seen as one method to ensure patient safety as this method allows for the attainment of skills and promotes the transference of these skills into safe clinical practice. Method: A pretest-posttest research design was used.…

Secondary Traumatic Stress has been described as "the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person" (Figley, 1999, p. 10). College resident assistants often serve as first-responders to students who have experienced traumatic life events such as severe mental illness, substance abuse, sexual…

In this study, 228 school psychologists completed a survey regarding crisis intervention teams and plans. The majority of respondents indicated their schools had crisis plans (95.1%) and teams (83.6%). The most common team activities endorsed by participants involved providing direct assistance and services to students, staff, and the media. The…

To learn more about the services available to youth at suicide prevention centers in North Carolina, a survey was conducted with 86 mental health and crisis prevention centers. The 16-item questionnaire examined the availability and extent of services offered by the centers, staffing patterns, sources of funding, and percentage of clientele…

A model for organizing crisis intervention efforts outlines three levels of intervention: primary prevention, secondary intervention, and tertiary prevention. Emphasizes the importance of conducting crisis drills, which are an example of secondary intervention. Includes a 15-point crisis intervention checklist. (MLF)

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teenagers. The rate has increased by 300% since the 1950s. By establishing a comprehensive, well-organized crisis intervention program, schools can do a great deal to prevent teenage suicide, and to help the school community survive if a tragedy cannot be averted. This book provides professionals…

Due to the frequent occurrences of violence in schools across America, one must wonder how a school and a community will cope in the face of a crisis. This paper examines the role of the school counselor in crisis intervention by having school counselors in Eastern Kentucky complete a survey concerning their competence in fulfilling this role. The…

The "Getting Ahead of the Need: Comprehensive Counseling for Elementary Schools" grant was awarded by the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program through the U.S. Department of Education to improve elementary school counseling prevention and intervention services offered in the Austin Independent School District. This report describes results…

The purpose of this paper is twofold: it reviews current national research on adolescent suicide and successful intervention/prevention programs and it surveys the 17 Nevada school districts to determine the presence of successful suicide intervention/prevention programs in the state. Findings include the following: (1) the popular…

Visits were made to selected respite care and crisis nursery programs in order to describe the programs and services they offered to families of young children with special needs and to learn more about the families who used the services and the staff who provided them. The visits to 10 crisis nurseries and 24 respite care programs resulted in…

Incident reports of violence, vandalism, and substance abuse prepared by local school districts for the 1988-1989 school year are summarized and compared with reports from previous years (1984-1988). The data are based on summarized information received in county offices of education from school districts. The data collected for this report are…

Sport-specific preparticipation examinations do not address social problems (drug abuse, suicide, murder, accidents, and sex) epidemic among teenagers, but they are often the only contact these youth have with a physician. This article discusses these risk factors and presents methods for assessing them during preparticipation exams. (SM)