School counselors' preparation for and participation in crisis intervention

Professional School Counseling, Dec, 2002 by Melissa Allen, Karen Burt, Eric Bryan, David Carter, Ralph Orsi, Lisa Durkan

When school counselors were asked if supervision for crisis intervention during practicum and internship was adequate, 53.7% responded "yes." School counselors who reported equal supervision from both the university professor and the on-site supervisor were more apt to report satisfactory supervision of crisis intervention than those school counselors reporting supervision from only one type of supervisor, [chi square] (2, N = 130) = 13.28, p = .001.

In order to determine the trend in university preparation for crisis intervention, the data were divided into two separate groups based on year of graduation: those graduating prior to 1995 (n = 111) and those graduating during 1995 and after (n = 125). Based on the difference between these two groups, there appears to be an increase over time in the percentage of counselors reporting university preparation for crisis intervention, [chi square] (1, N = 236) = 8.23, p = .004.

Prior to 1995, 37.3% of counselors reported university preparation compared to 56% in the more recent years (1995-2001). In comparison to counselors graduating prior to 1995, the recently graduated counselors also reported significantly more practicum and internship experiences, [chi square] (1, N = 236) = 22.63, p < .00001. Almost 70% of the recently graduated counselors reported having experiences related to crisis intervention during practicum and internship compared to 38.7% of those graduating prior to 1995.

Continuing Professional Development in Crisis Intervention

School counselors reported taking advantage of opportunities to increase their knowledge about crisis intervention after graduation. Three-fourths of the counselors reported that school districts either provided for or assisted with the costs of continuing education related to crisis intervention. Almost 22% of the counselors reported covering their own expenses for additional instruction in crisis intervention.

Approximately 69% of the school counselors reported participating in local professional development opportunities geared toward crisis intervention. This included school district in-services, local speakers, and community seminars. Counselors reported taking advantage of other opportunities to learn more about crisis intervention, including reading about crisis intervention in books or journal articles (52.5%), attending state and regional conventions (31.8%), and participating in Red Cross First Aid or CPR (23.7%). Other continuing professional development activities included training for crisis intervention through Red Cross Disaster Mental Health (11.4%), National Organization for Victim Assistance (6.8%), ASCA Conventions (5.5%), and American Psychological Association Conventions (3.4%).

Participation in School Crisis Intervention

Ninety-four percent of the school counselors reported working in districts with school crisis plans in place. When given five options ranging from 1 (not familiar) to 5 (extremely familiar), school counselors reported being "very familiar" with the school crisis plan (M = 3.7, SD = 1.1). Of the total sample, 75% of the counselors rated themselves as "familiar" or "very familiar" with the crisis plan in their school.