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Despite research indicating evidence-based sexual health education results improved student outcomes, students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) do not typically receive sexual health education. While school psychologists possess skills that could contribute to sexual health education for students with I/DD, there is no existing research on this topic. To address this, we conducted a survey of school psychologists in a state in the Southeastern United States regarding their attitudes, perceptions of social norm and self-efficacy, and training and familiarity in regard to sexual health education for students with I/DD. The survey's focus and design were guided by the Reasoned Action Approach. Data collection and analyzes addressed (a) the underlying structure and internal consistency of our survey's scales; (b) school psychologists' level of training, knowledge, and beliefs about implementing sexual health education programs with students with I/DD; and (c) the relationship between school psychologists' previous training, knowledge, and beliefs and their implementation of and advocacy for sexual health education for students with I/DD. Descriptive statistics, principal component analyzes, and multiple regression were used to summarize the data and address the research questions. Data from the multiple regression analysis indicated that a significant amount of the variance in participants' implementation/advocacy scores was explained by attitude, social norms, behavioral control/self-efficacy, and training/familiarity. Our findings suggest that school psychologists' engagement in implementation of and advocacy for sexual health education for students with I/DD can be influenced by level of training and knowledge and perceived capability and behavioral control.

School-based mental health professionals consistently report that they are either not prepared to support grieving students, or do not have time to integrate crisis intervention support into their hectic schedule. Given that inadequate school mental health services can increase a bereaved student's risk of developing emotional problems, it is critical that school psychologists increase their comfort in grief. This study surveyed 75 school psychologists in the Northwestern United States regarding their training and experience in grief support. A reflexive thematic analysis identified four themes related to the challenges and recommendations in grief support: lack of training, limited role of the school psychologist, lack of formalized grief response system, and lack of school and community resources. Furthermore, only 3% of participants reported taking the lead in providing grief support and 64% provide grief support fewer than five times a year. The majority (81%) reported that they had zero courses devoted to grief support during their graduate degree, with more participants (67%) obtaining grief training postdegree. Study limitations, areas for further research, and implications for schools and school psychologists are also discussed.

To meet the diverse needs of school-aged children, school psychologists often must collaborate with other professionals within and outside the school setting. Despite potential benefits, challenges exist related to interprofessional collaboration, including ethical challenges. This article explores some of the most salient ethical dilemmas that school psychologists are likely to face when collaborating with other professionals. Specifically, ethical issues related to competence, multiple relationships, informed consent/assent, privacy/confidentiality, assessment, and therapy are examined. Using vignettes, recommendations for navigating common ethical issues that may arise when engaging in interprofessional collaboration are offered. Suggestions are contextualized within the ethical principles and standards outlined in the American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct" (2017) and the National Association of School Psychologists Professional Standards (2020), which includes the Principles for Professional Ethics.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen significantly in the past two decades. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of mental health providers who have specialized training in delivering evidenced-based services to this population. Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an evidenced-based treatment recommended for toddlers with ASD, and school psychologists are uniquely positioned to help children with ASD receive it. However, many school psychologists do not receive adequate training in this subspecialty. This paper makes recommendations to school psychology training programs about how to add or improve training in this subspecialty based on the results of an Office of Special Education Programs grant-funded ASD training program which involved collaboration between a NASP-approved and APA-accredited school psychology training program and a community-based early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) clinic. The grant supported development of an interdisciplinary didactic and clinical training program to increase the ASD knowledge, skills, and competencies of school psychology graduate students, with the broader goals of developing a replicable training model and increasing the workforce of trained providers for this underserved population. Fifteen graduate students completed the training program. Outcomes related to trainee knowledge, skills, and competencies, trainee satisfaction, and lessons learned over time analyzed within a logic model that guided the project's development and execution can be informative for other school psychology programs undertaking training in this subspecialty.

This study explored school psychologists' practices in the areas of developing behavior intervention plans (BIPs), conducting functional behavior assessments (FBAs), and behavioral consultation. Practitioners were asked to rate their level of confidence in the implementation with fidelity of the last BIP they developed. Relationships between these practices and school psychologists' confidence levels were examined. Data were collected from a national sample of practitioners (n = 179). Overall, results suggest that school district supports, being mindful of potential barriers to implementation, certain components of the FBA process, and adhering to best practices in behavioral consultation can have substantial positive impacts on a school psychologist's confidence in the treatment integrity and maintenance of BIPs over time. Implications for practice are discussed.

Assessment and management of youth suicide risk is a key role for school psychologists. However, prior research indicates that psychologists commonly lack confidence and feel unprepared when they graduated to conduct risk assessments. This qualitative study explored nine Victorian early-career school psychologists' role in risk assessment, and their self-perceived preparedness, self-efficacy, postgraduate training experiences and methods used to assess risk. Results identified that the frequency of student suicidal ideation and acute mental health presentations exceeded participants' expectations. Participants identified confidence in assessing risk, but less confidence in the follow-up actions. Participants reported employing comprehensive risk assessment practices and most received exposure to risk assessment during training. Key factors identified for building risk assessment preparedness and confidence were supervision, experience, professional development and research. As participants identified core risk assessment competencies that may require further coverage in curricula, these findings have important implications for universities to maximise graduates' risk assessment preparedness.

Prior research suggests mindfulness-based interventions effectively reduce stress in trainee psychologists, enhance wellbeing and cultivate clinical skills and competencies. This study explored how trainee school psychologists perceived the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on their development as psychologists. Forty trainee school psychologists participated in a 6-week online mindfulness-based intervention. They completed weekly written reflective journals throughout the programme which were later analysed using thematic analysis. Four core themes were identified: (1) changes in awareness and attention; (2) enhanced wellbeing; (3) commitment to ongoing personal practice and (4) cultivation and enhancement of professional development. Participants (n = 24) who completed the mindfulness workshop during the COVID-19 pandemic indicated that mindfulness practice was particularly useful for managing uncertainty and other related stressors. It was concluded that practicing mindfulness supported trainee school psychologists' personal and professional development, particularly related to compassion, resilience and therapeutic presence.

There are few studies examining the wellbeing of Australian school-based psychologists/counsellors (SPCs) despite the research indicating there are unique stressors associated with the role. The purpose of this study was to measure the stress perceived by working Australian SPCs. Data were collected via an online survey within which the Perceived Stress Scale -- 10 item version (PSS-10) was embedded. Mean global stress for 162 participants was calculated then compared with the general population and a previous cohort of Australian SPCs. Four variables of influence were also statistically analysed: school level, years of experience, amount of time participating in supervision and alignment with two differing professional identity statements -- 'I see myself as an educator with a counselling/psychology specialisation' or 'as a psychologist/counsellor who works in an education setting'. Moderate-high frequency of stress, in excess of the general population and stress levels reported previously, was found. No significant relationships were found between stress and school level, years of experience or professional identity. A negative relationship was found between stress and the amount of supervision received. The level of stress experienced by Australian SPCs warrants that policies and practices monitor and protect Australian SPC wellbeing.

Professional organization ethical codes are adopted to protect the public by educating their members to standards of conduct and by facilitating resolution of ethical complaints. Given that the last survey on ethics in school psychology was conducted over a decade ago, the aim of this study was to investigate the ethical dilemmas practitioners face today, along with their preparedness for resolving these dilemmas. We also examined workplace resources and whether preparedness and resolution were related to background variables (i.e., degree, setting, ethics training). Results indicated most school psychologists experienced at least one ethical dilemma over the past year, mostly in the areas of assessment and administrative pressure. Although most participants felt prepared to face ethical dilemmas, relatively few used a systematic decision-making model to resolve them. Last, most school psychologists reported feeling relatively unprepared for ethically delivering psychological services via telehealth. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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 this study was to examine compassion fatigue in school psychologists following crisis intervention work. Data were collected via interviews with eight school psychologists to examine their crisis response-related experiences and the impact this work has on them. Analyses revealed five major themes including, Indications of Compassion Fatigue, Personal Factors, Professional Factors and Resources, Crisis Factors, and Benefits to Providing Crisis Intervention. Findings indicated that all participants experienced some level of compassion fatigue, with secondary traumatic stress symptoms being the most prevalent concern noted. Responding to many crises, responding to high-severity crises, personal trauma history, and having other duties were associated with the level of compassion fatigue. Additionally, most participants felt compassion satisfaction through their work, which can serve as a protective factor against compassion fatigue. These findings have implications for school-based crisis intervention work and how school districts might support crisis interveners.

Despite school psychologists working in non-school settings since 1896, no studies have investigated the practices that these professionals engage in outside the schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the practices of school psychologists in school and non-school settings, such as state agencies and hospitals. Additionally, the researchers sought to uncover why school psychologists chose non-school settings to work in over schools. Insight is provided as to whether the NASP (2020) Practice Model domains were being applied in non-school settings. Findings suggest that the practices of school psychologists in school and non-school settings were aligned with the domains of the NASP Practice Model. Implications for practice, training, and future research regarding school psychologists in non-school settings are discussed.

School psychologists often face complex ethical and legal issues in their work, which become more challenging as the needs of students and school systems evolve. When faced with ethical dilemmas, it can be difficult for school psychologists to determine the best course of action, particularly when there is no clear solution. This study explored the ethical dilemmas experienced by psychologists working in South African schools in the Western Cape. The aim was to understand the ethical landscape in which they operate. The research was conducted through semi-structured telephone interviews with 16 participants, who shared 58 ethical dilemmas they had experienced. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, identifying six themes: confidentiality, role definition, assessments and reports, workload, consent, and scope of practice. Participants utilized various strategies to manage dilemmas, such as relying on professional codes, setting boundaries, seeking supervision, and prioritizing the child's best interests. The study highlights the complex context in which school psychologists navigate ethical issues and their impact on the types of dilemmas they face. Finally, suggestions are provided for training and practical application.

Many racial-ethnic minoritized individuals are repeatedly exposed to subtle actions reflecting racial slights, termed racial microaggressions (RMAs), which are associated with adjustment problems in early adult and adult populations. Early adolescence represents a unique developmental period when minoritized youth begin their racial-ethnic identity exploration and are subjected to stereotypes and prejudice, thereby making them vulnerable to RMAs. Based upon the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist, a systematic literature search, screening and review of RMA literature focusing on high schoolers and younger youth was conducted and yielded 54 publications. This paper reviewed the publications and identified gaps in the field such as the need for systematic research on early adolescents including the frequency and severity of RMAs and the important contributions of peers, parents and teachers for RMA victims, and the need for more evidence-based programming for middle schoolers. Findings suggest that developing school-based microaggression antiracism programs is clearly needed for minoritized and White youth.

Although research suggests that school psychologists are generally satisfied with their experiences in the field, scholars have yet to examine how exposure to racial microaggressions, or subtle race-based insults, may impact satisfaction. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relation between exposure to microaggressions and satisfaction among practicing school psychologists, students, and university faculty. We were particularly interested in the role of race. We collected survey data from 93 school psychologists, and found that exposure to microaggressions predicted reported satisfaction with jobs and placements, but that the relation was only relevant for People of Color (POC). We also found that the relation between microaggression exposure and satisfaction was moderated by the demographic of one's work setting, as POC in settings that were primarily Black and Brown reported less satisfaction when they experienced high levels of microaggressions. Future directions and implications for the field of school psychology are discussed.

Data collected during psychoeducational evaluations can be compromised by response bias: clients not putting forth sufficient effort on tests, not being motivated to do well, or not being fully honest and careful when completing rating scales and contributing similar self-report data. Some of these problems apply to data from third-party informants as well. In the present study, we surveyed school psychologists about their approach to detecting, preventing, and reacting to apparent response bias. A sample of 297 school psychologists responded to at least one of four open-ended questions. We found that most participants only used informal techniques for detecting response bias (rather than specialized tests and embedded indices), relied on rewards or reinforcements to prevent response bias, and reacted to apparent response bias by noting it in their evaluation reports. However, a wide variety of other strategies were endorsed by smaller proportions of practitioners. We compare these results to results from similar surveys in neuropsychology, and discuss implications for applied practice as well as future research.

Pediatric cancer is the second leading cause of death among children ages 1-14 (Whitehead et al., 2016). Approximately 10,500 children ages 1-14 and 5090 adolescents ages 15-19 have been diagnosed with cancer in 2021 (American Cancer Society, 2021). An estimated 28% of childhood cases and 13% of adolescent patients will be diagnosed explicitly with Leukemia (American Cancer Society, 2021). Leukemia is a broad term that encompasses the malignant disease of bone marrow and other structures responsible for blood production (Olin et al., 2018). Children and adolescents experiencing pediatric leukemia often undergo treatment that produces biological, psychosocial, and cognitive impacts. Due to the occurrence of this disease in school-aged children and the wide-ranging consequences they face, school psychologists may be called upon to work with students and their families while they go through treatment during school-aged years. This article will discuss pediatric leukemia, treatment options, long-term impacts of treatment for patients, and considerations for working with children in the school system.

African American school psychologists are very much underrepresented in school psychology; over 85% of school psychologists who completed the 2020 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) membership survey were White, while just 3.9% of members identified as Black or African American (Goforth et al., 2021). This represented a slight increase in the diversity of school psychologists since the previous survey. Such modest increases do not match the rapidly changing demographics of children and adolescents in our public schools. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, students from different nationalities and linguistic backgrounds now make up over half of the pre-K-12 population. Increasing diversity among practitioners may lead to better meeting the growing academic, social-emotional, and behavioral needs of the student population in public schools. The current strategic plan not only includes objectives related to recruiting future school psychologists from diverse backgrounds, but also has an intentional focus on retention of those school psychologists once they enter the workforce. Thus, Tiara Bland argues, as an association and a profession should all share the goal of continuing to diversify the workforce not only through intentional recruitment, but also through supporting and retaining the African American school psychologists already in the field.

The National Association of School Psychologists emphasizes consultation, collaboration, and family-school-community collaboration as domains within school psychology practice. Family engagement is defined as caregiver participation in children's learning and instruction. While research outlines best practices in engaging and collaborating with families across multitiered systems of support (MTSS), there has been little examination of the current practices of school psychologists within this domain. This study investigated family engagement practices in schools, school psychologists' involvement in these practices, and their perceived effectiveness. Results indicated that while family engagement and problem-solving consultation methods were used within MTSS, school psychologists were less involved in implementation. Implications and future research are discussed.

COVID-19 presented a range of challenges to the delivery of school psychology services in countries around the world. The current study aimed to investigate the practices of school psychologists from the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including changes to practice and exploration of the factors that supported the delivery of school psychology services during the pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 1,030 school psychologists and analyzed using a mixed methods, multiple case study design. Differing impacts of the pandemic on the working hours of school psychologists were reported across countries. Participants in all countries reported a shift to online working, with an increased focus on consultation and intervention and a reduction in psychoeducational assessments. School psychologists from all nations emphazised the importance of self-care strategies, social connections and physical activity and the role of support via supervision or professional networks. Access to appropriate technology and responsive workplace policies and procedures were also identified as important. Results have implications for the internationalization of the school psychology profession and can inform international school psychology planning in response to future crises.

Narcolepsy is not a common disorder, with best estimates finding it affects only about 0.025-0.05% of the population. Nonetheless, it is a vital disorder for school psychologists to be familiar with on the basis that its symptoms frequently first occur during childhood and adolescence. If undiagnosed, this disorder causes significant distress and disadvantage to the student as well as frustration and difficulty for school staff. It is surprising that narcolepsy has received almost no attention in the school psychology literature. This article provides school psychologists with an overview of the central features, causes, diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy in young people. It then outlines school management of the disorder, with specific consideration of the role of the school psychologist.

For psychoeducational evaluations to generate useful data, students must put forth sufficient effort on diagnostic tests, and they and their caregivers and teachers must respond honestly and carefully when asked about symptoms. These features are collectively known as response validity, a concept widely discussed in neuropsychological assessment but rarely discussed explicitly in the school psychology literature. School psychologists (N = 311, 82.6% female) were surveyed about their attitudes and practices regarding response validity. Most respondents used informal observational strategies to assess response validity when conducting psychoeducational evaluations, but very few respondents administered any specialized formal standalone measures to assess response validity. The vast majority of respondents were nonetheless interested in the topic and felt that it was insufficiently addressed in the training of school psychologists. Trainers should cover response validity issues in greater detail, and practitioners should consider using more formal strategies to assess response validity.

Several studies have highlighted the mental health challenges of children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period, especially, in relation to an escalation of depression, anxiety, and stress. Whilst this may be the reality, it is unfortunate that most of the studies adopt a psychopathological point of departure often portraying doom and gloom. Adopting a social ecological resilience perspective the author focuses on the resilience of school-attending black South African youth during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The Child and Youth Resilience Measurement (CYRM-28) was completed by 4165 respondents in grades 4 to 12 (females = 2431, 58.4%; males = 1734, 41.6%) from the Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North-West provinces in South Africa. The findings indicate that school psychologists must consider gender, age and school levels when they design school-based resilience programmes for black South African children. Particular emphasis should be placed on contextual resilience highlighting spiritual, religious, cultural and educational factors. A major lesson for school psychologists is to ensure that school-based resiliency programmes adopt a whole school approach that includes children, their families and local communities for the successful promotion of resilience during adverse situations as postulated by the social ecological resilience model.

Educational disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth across Canada, as is true across the United States, pose challenges to education systems to examine and alter professional practices in ways that support closing these gaps. Calls for more Indigenous school psychologists who might bring skills and perspectives to bear are long-standing, yet few graduate preparation programs have responded. Whether Indigenous students begin and do not complete programs, or never apply, it is incumbent on programs to examine the systemic underpinnings of the problem and respond with culturally responsive recruitment and retention strategies. In this article, one school psychology program shares programmatic contexts, recruitment processes, and retention strategies that have supported the preparation and graduation of dozens of Indigenous school psychologists from multiple Indigenous nations.

Indigenous young people in Canada are disproportionately overrepresented in suicide rates and alarmingly, young children are accounted for in these disparities. Since children spend much of their day at school, schools are a vital context for suicide prevention, identification, and intervention. However, research indicates that educators often report that they feel unprepared to address mental health challenges within the classroom. Indigenous communities are developing community driven responses to suicide that are culturally relevant and strengths based. It is critical that these models are considered when developing such suicide prevention within schools as they diverge from medicalized focused approaches and attend to broader social dimensions. It is imperative that educators and the education system are properly equipped with the training and resources to provide suicide prevention within schools and communities servicing Indigenous children. School psychologists can play an important role in providing this prevention leadership. Through interviews with educators, we learned about the types of supports that are needed within schools to address Indigenous child suicide, and in what ways school psychologists could enhance prevention efforts. Using a reflexive approach to thematic analysis, we identified four main themes related to support needed. Findings are discussed in conversation with the current state of child specific suicide and suicide prevention literature. Applied implications for suicide prevention within schools for Indigenous children, as well as future research and community-based recommendations are considered.

School psychologists are key school-based personnel when responding to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The present paper explored the experiences and attitudes of school psychologists, with a special focus on collaborating during suicide intervention activities. Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, a purposive sample procedure identified 10 school psychologists. Data were collected via in-person, semi-structured interviews. Most participants were female (n = 9) and all were practicing within the school setting and had delivered suicide intervention activities. Experiences described through interviews suggested collaboration while responding to suicide was a common activity that enhances the quality of services, external collaboration--though beneficial for students--can be a barrier to the provision of services, school psychologists cope through collaboration, and suicide intervention services would benefit from increased collaboration. Implications for practice include working to develop stable partnerships with external stakeholders and increasing collaboration during suicide assessment and response.

The integration of behavioral health services in primary care has become increasingly popular in pediatric settings in recent years. While there are various models of integrated behavioral health (IBH), the aim is constant: to increase access to behavioral and mental health care through collaboration between behavioral health providers and physicians. Prior to the pandemic, only 20%-50% of children and adolescents received mental health care from a professional. Since COVID-19, access to care has only worsened. Given this reality, the use of IBH has promising benefits, including: (1) positive outcomes for patients and providers; (2) improved screening, identification, and intervention; (3) improved mental health outcomes; and (4) reduction of provider burnout. Given these aims and outcomes, a major opportunity exists for school psychologists to bring unique, but highly transferable, knowledge and skills to an emerging field. In this article, the authors share the real-life experiences of a licensed school psychologist and advanced practicum student to highlight how the comprehensive training of school psychologists prepares us to perform well in an integrated setting. The authors also call attention to the numerous possibilities available for those looking for an alternative setting or expansion of their current practice.

The purpose of this study was to explore similarities and differences in how practicing school psychologists conceptualized culturally responsive consultation across varying consultation paradigms. We conducted a secondary analysis of interviews of 15 school psychologists nationwide. Three major consultation paradigms emerged: (1) structured problem-solving with a medical model lens, (2) structured problem-solving with an ecological lens and, (3) 'On-the-fly' consultation with limited use of a problem-solving framework. The participants who described a medical model approach described their conceptualization of cultural variables in a broad manner, and they did not respond to cultural variables in robust ways. The participants who described an eco-behavioral approach to consultation actively incorporated culturally related variables throughout their consultation process. The participants who described an on-the-fly approach varied in their consideration of and response to cultural variables. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although federal law has provided guidelines for autism eligibility for special education, school-based autism assessment and eligibility vary widely across states and identification continues to lag behind national prevalence data. The main role of the school psychologist continues to be conducting evaluations for special education eligibility, and given current barriers, some school psychologists do not feel equipped to make a recommendation for autism eligibility. This article summarizes the barriers school psychologists face when conducting autism assessments in the schools, including systemic barriers, lack of training or professional development, resulting lack of confidence, among others. We conclude by highlighting recommendations for multipronged systemic changes that will improve the capacity of special education teams and specifically support the pivotal role of the school psychologist in conducting autism eligibility evaluations in the schools.

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) estimates that the U.S. needs approximately 63,000 more school psychologists to meet the recommended ratio of one student per 500 school psychologists. This would ensure every student has access to comprehensive school psychological services. Unfortunately, while students are facing a mental health crisis after the pandemic, the school psychologist shortage is getting worse. NASP's Seth Lipkin writes about the urgent need for more school psychologists and outlines several potential solutions at the local, state, and federal levels that could help.

School psychologists can engage in consultation to address inequities in educational opportunities to support multiply marginalized students. This critical work is codified in the NASP 2020 Practice Model, which outlines professional and organizational principles to facilitate school psychologists' engagement in equitable, effective supports to students, schools, and families. However, the legacy of historical beliefs about race and ability, based on white supremacy, have become intertwined in complex ways that are evident within and across multiple school ecologies, including consultation. In this paper, we apply DisCrit, a theoretical framework that incorporates a dual analysis of race and ability through an integration of critical race theory and disability studies, to provide a conceptual review of problem-solving consultation structure, roles, and purpose. Next, we highlight the potential of embedding equitable implementation, an emerging perspective from implementation science, into consultation. Equitable implementation occurs when strong equity components (e.g., trusting relationships, community-defined evidence) are integrated into the implementation process to facilitate quality delivery of programs. With this perspective and an illustrated case study, we hope to provide actionable steps for researchers and practitioners to center disrupting problematic ecologies and advancing equity as foundational in their consultation. We also reflect on opportunities, challenges, and implications for training and practice that are aligned with the NASP 2020 Practice Model.