School psychologists serve the learning needs of students through assessment, intervention, and consultation. The school psychologist can often be the only mental health professional who travels into rural communities. In an effort to adapt to this context of clinical isolation, rural school psychologists develop specialty competencies to serve…

There is a lack of an established framework or taxonomy in the academic literature to systematically analyze school counseling policies. This study was conducted to fill in this gap. Specifically, the researchers propose an initial taxonomy developed based on review of relevant school counseling policy documents and research. The proposed taxonomy…

This article is the second of a two-part series that describes the development of the "Taxonomy of Policy Levers to Promote High Quality School-Based Counseling." Previous article (Morshed & Carey, 2020) described the development of the taxonomy using content analysis of existing published descriptions of policy levers. This article…

Aims: An initial exploratory study was conducted to ascertain if consensus is reached, between a reference group of educational psychologists, regarding the competencies that might be required for the initial training of educational psychologists when working with young people who present with sleep deprivation. Rationale: A conventional…

Negative school climate and oppressive policies and laws significantly impact the psychological and academic well-being of transgender students in the United States. LGBTQ students consistently identify school counselors as the most supportive school staff member. Although school counselors have the ethical obligation to advocate for transgender…

School counselors are a well-positioned resource to reach the significant number of children and adolescents with mental health problems. In this special school counseling issue of "The Professional Counselor," some articles focus on systemic, top-down advocacy efforts as the point of intervention for addressing child and adolescent…

In an October 2015 professional development and networking conference, 100 school counselors and teachers increased their cultural awareness and knowledge of Native American Indian Tribes and developed skills to support and advocate for their students. This one-page report describes the event, shares initial learnings, and touches on possible next…

The current exploratory-descriptive study used a survey design method to examine guidance counsellors' and educational psychologists' perceptions of their preparation, motivation, and effectiveness in preventing, assessing, and intervening into student high-risk behaviour. The study also explored training associated with addressing high-risk…

Little attention has been given to how school counselor education and professional training establishes competencies for which the duties constituting the practice of school counseling are uniquely derived. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information in the literature regarding how school counselor training, the national standards for school…

Reviews the six building blocks presented by the author in the first issue of this journal. Assesses how well the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) has accomplished the goals involved and points out new areas of growth and new frontiers that AMHCA can address in firming up the professional identity of the mental health…

Discusses diagnosis, addressing need for and usefulness of diagnosis by clinicians in general, with emphasis on related ethical concerns and clinicians' competence in diagnosis specifically. Concludes that graduate programs involved in training clinical professionals need to teach diagnosis more aggressively. (Author/NB)

Results from national survey of practicing school psychological personnel (N=193) regarding crisis intervention suggest that practitioners are being asked to intervene in a variety of situations with crisis potential. Many respondents reported inadequate training for this role. Most respondents considered crisis intervention to be an important…

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…

A practicum was designed to train school counselors in recognizing the signs of suicide, assessing suicidal ideation, and managing a suicidal crisis. It was also designed to develop in counselors a more definitive idea of their role in a suicidal crisis. The primary goal was to increase counselors' confidence in their ability to assess and…

In nine articles discusses various points of view, trends and research reports on counselor training. Reports competency preferences of a national sample of counseling professionals and students. Issues analyzed include counselor characteristics and identity, role standards, training modes, practicum and supervision. Reviews a number of unresolved…