How do you solve a problem without evidence?

As the trend of role expansion in school psychology continues, the role as “problem solver” has created a dilemma for school psychologists. According to Ysseldyke et al. (2006), “school psychologists should possess the ability to use problem-solving and scientific methodology to create, evaluate, and apply appropriately empirically validated interventions at both an individual and systems level” (p.14). School psychologists are increasingly being held accountable for the intervention programs they choose. More than ever, the pressure for school psychologists to effectively and efficiently choose an intervention is increasing; school administrators expect school psychologists to make these decisions as quickly and accurately as possible.

Fortunately, organizations such as the APA and the US department of Education have created guidelines and criteria to help facilitate this decision making process. The guidelines serve to help school psychologists and other school personnel distinguish effective vs. ineffective intervention programs. The documents provide criteria that determines what an effective intervention entails. Below are links to the guidelines in detail:

● http://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/evaluating.pdf
● http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorousevid/rigorousevid.pdf
● http://evidencebasedpolicy.org/docs/Evid-based_educ_strategy_for_ED.pdf.


The guidelines and criteria provide school psychologist with assistance in choosing effective interventions. However, the guidelines do not guarantee that the program will be implemented in the school. At the school and district level, there are other influences that affect how an intervention is implemented and if it is applied effectively. According to Peacock (2010) teacher acceptance, commitment, and site-based administrative support can impede on intervention implementation (p. 214, p.228). Why would teachers and administrators be opposed to implementing effective interventions? In regards to implementing an intervention program, how can a school psychologist advocate their case and what evidence can they provide to teachers and administrators to prove their plan is beneficial?

Unfortunately, some of the most effective interventions can be costly and difficult to implement in schools, especially with limited resources. These poorer school districts may shy away from effective interventions and opt for an inexpensive program with less efficacy. On the contrary, costly programs such as DARE are still being used in schools even after being proved ineffective years ago. How do you feel about these decision on implementation? What would you do if you were the administrator in a poor school district? Do these decisions worsen school and student outcome or provide some kind of benefit? Have you seen or know of any programs scientifically proven ineffective yet still utilized within a school? How much accountability should be put on school personnel-who implement these programs whether they agree with them or not- when programs fail to produce positive results?

References:

Peacock, G. G., Ervin, R. A., Daly III, E. J., & Merrell, K. W. (2010). Practical handbook of school psychology. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Ysseldyke, J. E., Burns, M., Kelley, B., Morrison, D., Ortiz, S., Rosenfield, S., et al. (2006). School psychology: A blueprint for training and practice: III. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

This Blog was created by: Tanushree Mehta, Heather Newman, Krista Johnson, Derrick Wilson, and Amanda Elliott

When Do We Draw the LINE...

When a student disobeys one of the school codes of conduct, it results in disciplinary action as a consequence of the violation. What happens when it’s a student that has a disability? According to the Individuals Disabilities Act of 1997 (IDEA), a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) has to either be reviewed or conducted by the school psychologist before the school authority can take disciplinary action against a student with a disability. An FBA is a problem solving process that addresses a problem behavior that a child is exhibiting. It uses techniques to identify what triggers the specific behavior and interventions are created in order to directly address the behavior. A student with a disability should NOT be disciplined without the consideration of their FBA.

Two different children can display the same behavior, but the function of the behavior may serve two completely different meanings. For example, let’s say one child throws a chair across the classroom because they do not like the teacher. Now lets say a child with Asperger Syndrome (AS) throws a chair across the room, not because they do not like the teacher, but because he/she is having difficulty with trying to communicate what they want to say. Individuals with AS often have a hard time managing their emotions. One of the reasons why is because they have difficulties expressing what they want to say, which is known as Alexithymia. It is easier to use physical action as a release from their emotional energy. So in this case, would it be fair to serve both children with the same disciplinary action? Absolutely NOT!! In this instance, it is the job of the school psychologist to address the behavior according to the student’s FBA, not the school authority. When any student that has a disability violates a school code of conduct, it would appropriate for the school psychologist to intervene. It is their job to review the student’s FBA or conduct one in order to come up with an appropriate disciplinary action.

The utilization of FBAs has proven to be a successful way to produce a desirable behavior over a maladaptive one. Although there is no universal way in conducting a FBA, there are several areas that are considered in the process such as the purpose of the assessment, the definition of the problem, designing/evaluating interventions, etc. An FBA is a well thought out process that consists of beneficial information on a student with a disability. The interventions are carefully considered according to the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Our point? Are schools taking the necessary steps and using the FBA when determining what type of disciplinary action should be taken with a child that has a disability?

From personal observations and feedback from schools, it is unclear if school psychologists are getting the opportunity to intervene all the time. Is this fair to the student with a disability? Do you see the school authority consulting with the school psychologist before making a decision? Do they even feel as if these considerations should me made? If not using the FBA as a guide, what measures are they taking to consider the type of disciplinary action that should take place? In your opinion, do you think a FBA is even necessary to review when taking disciplinary action?


This Blog was created by: Cassie Porter, Jovanna Ossa, Nicole I. Sánchez & Preeti Patel

How Much Progress is Enough?

“The quality of a school as a learning community can be measured by how effectively it addresses the needs of struggling students” (Wright, 2005).

School psychologists must be cognizant of what is in the child’s best interest and responsive in order to communicate interventions that will benefit or impact a child’s schooling. Every child requires different modalities and is entitled to the right to learn and the right to an education. One can keep educating parents to be informed on how to advocate for their children; however, a collaborative approach is needed to determine the most appropriate level of success. As school psychologists, regardless of the diagnosis, each child should be given an appropriate intervention; no child should be singled out based on his or her disability.

One of the greatest challenges of a school psychologist is time management and how time is delineated among individual cases. Unfortunately, it may not be feasible for school psychologists to be directly involved in every aspect of the process. How, then, is time prioritized for each child and is the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach fair?

The role of a school psychologist is to ensure that students with disabilities receive accommodations and modifications in the general education classroom. We have an obligation to assess and use our clinical expertise in order to make recommendations. Based on one of the ethical guidelines, “School psychologists make decisions based on multiple theoretical perspectives and translate current scientific information to develop effective behavioral, affective, or adaptive goals for all students” (NASP Professional Conduct Manual, 2000, p. 44). However, how are we supposed to be effectively monitoring the progress of each student equally? What is the process and is it enough? What does the law require us to do as professionals versus what can we do?

While the law requires us to follow a procedure, we can only do so much as professionals to make certain each child receives an adequate plan of intervention. Realistically, a school psychologist must manage their time effectively to ensure that students will not be overlooked. The multi-tiered model should be implemented into classroom instruction in order to successfully facilitate and monitor each child’s progress. But in the end, time is of the essence.


This Blog was created by Brittany Silverman and Katie Wiseman


References:

National association of school psychologists professional conduct manual. (2000, July 15). Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/standards/professionalcond.pdf

Wright, J. (2005). Five interventions that work. NAESP [National Association of Elementary School Principals] Leadership Compass, 2(4) pp. 1,6.

I'm sorry...I didn't understand you.

While the overall student population, kindergarten through twelfth grade, has only increased by 2.6%, the ELL (English Language Learners) population has increased by 60.8% (Rhodes, 2010). This increase is also evident in the special education population where culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students are believed to be overrepresented.

The problem here is that many of these students who are being placed in special education may not need it at all. What professionals are identifying as a disability may simply be difficulty with language acquisition. School psychologists should be knowledgeable about language acquisition and the impact that it has on a student's response to instruction and intervention (Rhodes, 2010).

The problem-solving model or Intervention & Referral Services (I&RS) is a problem solving method attempting to provide us with a method to meet the needs of ALL our students. It enables us to intervene when possible with evidence-based and documented interventions. Referral for special education evaluation is made only AFTER all interventions fail.

So where are we falling short in regards to CLD students?

•Is enough emphasis being placed on the gathering and analyzing information process for CLD students?
• How necessary is it for CLD cases to be handled by trained bilingual specialists?
•Is monitoring progress for CLD students too challenging due to a lack of evidence-based interventions?

From our understanding of the I&RS, it is the teacher's responsibility to monitor student's progress.

•Should practitioners determine how progress reporting is done, how it is measured, and how the results are managed?

We can see that it is important to have school psychologists working
in our districts who are knowledgeable on CLD students. According to
Rhodes (2010), professionals should be able to “examine academic and behavioral concerns in the context of language, culture, and disability”.

• Is it necessary to hire bilingual school psychologists?
•Should CSTs have at least one bilingual or trained specialist on the team?
•What other options do school districts have when it comes to providing interventions and assessing CLD students?

In most districts, school psychologists barely have enough time for consultations as it is.

•How effective would the implementation of a MSC (multicultural school consultation) framework be?

The increase in CLD students brings a need, now more than ever, for school psychologists competent in cultural and linguistic diversity. It is important for them to recognize all of the factors affecting CLD students and to be able to distinguish between a student with a disability, and a student with academic difficulties due to acculturation and language acquisition issues. CLD students are being placed into special education programs unnecessarily and methods need to be put into place in order to prevent this. The problem-solving model, when implemented thoroughly, has the potential to help us, as future practitioners, better serve the CLD student population.


This blog was created by Cyndi Raia and Kasandra Aristizabal.

What's the Problem????

The problem-solving strategy in school psychology is made up of 5 components including a 4-step problem-solving method and a problem-solving framework detailing 4 levels of intensity of intervention. Peacock et al. (2006) stress the interdependence of these two components. A basic understanding of these factors is not enough; it takes intense training and experience for school professionals to become proficient in implementing these strategies in their practice. In addition, there are specific assumptions that a proficient school psychologist needs to adopt in order to reap the full benefits of the problem-solving model. These assumptions are that the scientific method guides decision making; that direct, functional assessments provide the best information for decision making; that learning is an interaction between curriculum, instruction, and the environment; that all students can learn; and finally, that effective interventions are matched to unique student needs. The problem-solving model also requires intensive training of all school professionals in tool skills, data collection skills, and ongoing support for implementation. Finally, sound implementation of problem-solving strategies requires aligning all the key components to ensure that they work together as effectively as possible.

Given the current trend in school psychology of full inclusion, RTI, etc., which emphasize interventions at every level of instructional need (the entire school population), would the rigorous training necessary to implement problem-solving strategies be something you would support?

Do you think any one component of this model can stand on its own, or is the problem-solving strategy an all-or-nothing approach?

This Blog was created by Kyra Labisi and Amber Porzio.

A Parent's Role

Parents and school psychologists should maintain a solid connection to optimize their child's education and socialization in the school. Before any interventions can take place, the two parties must be on somewhat of the same page when deciding the best course of action for the child.

-Are strong ties between the parents and school psychologist a necessity for achievement in the academic setting?

-What happens if at home the parents are not a strong influence in their child's life? What can the school psychologist do?

-What are some ways to strengthen the relationship between parents and school psychologists?

-How do you go about differentiating opinions between parents and school psychologists when deciding interventions and recommendations for a child?

-What are some ways that we as school psychologists can educate and simplify the procedures and information given to parents new to the child study team process so they can better understand?

In our experience, we have found that some parents' ideas for the direction their child should take in school seem to be in direct opposition to what the school psychologists know from years of experience and training. Other times, a parent really has no opinion on the matter and lets the school psychologist take control of the situation with little to no objections. Many times, the parents fall between these two extremes. When working with someone's child, school psychologists must be sensitive to parents' thoughts and feelings about their child because we may present a piece of information that they do not want to hear. How can we as school psychologists effectively work with parents to help their child exceed to the best of their capabilities?

This Blog was created by Joey Schweighardt and Julian Castellanos.

School Violence: What's the Limit?

If we think back to Columbine and Virginia Tech, hind sight reveals many discrepancies between what staff should have done and what actually happened with students who are troubled. How far should educators go to protect their schools? To what extent, though, are we violating the student's rights? Some people think that metal detectors create legal concerns. NASP recognizes that the role of a school psychologist is a vital one.

It “encourages school psychologists’ to take a leadership role in developing comprehensive approaches to violence reduction and crisis response in schools.” (NASP 2006) As per, NASP, school psychologists are trained to provide all students with valuable resources and also develop effective interventions.

But should the responsibility in developing comprehensive approaches to violence reduction fall mainly on the the school psychologist?

This Blog was created by Ana Palma, Alarys Medina and Amanda Bisheit.

Can You Spare some CHANGE????

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” –John Muir, environmentalist.

Working as school psychologists we find ourselves as part of the “system”; collaborating with students, teachers, administrators, and parents a daily routine. In our discussions and readings the focus for school psychologists has been to shift our roles in that “system”. Are we prepared to be systems-change agents? What areas do we need to show competency in?

If we are prepared to be system-change agents, we must then consider the process by which we can initiate this change. In our readings, this is presented in terms of certain steps that need to be taken. Merrel, Ervin, & Gimpel (2006) state that “when creating readiness for change, the first consideration is the development of vision and leadership” (pg 235). Some may consider No Child Left Behind as an example of a systems change that requires a certain level of vision, so that others can see its potential for improving educational standards. What are you thoughts on this? Has this initiative met the goals it sets forth?

This Blog was created by Mark Newman & Anel DeJesus.

Working with the Culturally Diverse

With immigration to the United States rapidly on the rise, growing awareness of the importance of integrating cultural values and norms into professional practice has been under evaluation to examine its effectiveness. As a practitioner, one is ethically obligated to provide therapy that is culturally sensitive, respectful, and beneficial based on a client’s background characteristics (Jacob & Hartshorne, 2007).

In an effort to provide culturally competent practice; a school psychologist must attempt to utilize the following “best practices” strategies (Sue & Sue, 2008):

• develop awareness of their own cultural heritage, gender, class, ethnic-racial identity, sexual orientation, and age and its implications on personal and social development
  
• learn about a client’s background, values, and experiences and how they may have influenced individual development and behavior
  
• demonstrate understanding and respect for cultural and experiential differences between practitioner and client
  
• utilize knowledge of best practices when selecting, designing, and implementing treatment plans for diverse students/clients
  
• consider an individual’s cultural/ethnic identity to prevent “over-pathology” or “under-pathology”
  
• become conscious of communication style and try to anticipate their impact on culturally diverse clients
  
• dispel biases through immersion of culture which requires additional education
  seek professional advice from colleagues

By adhering to the aforementioned strategies, school psychologists will provide, to the best of their ability, a therapeutic climate where progress is likely to occur.

To what extent do personal biases, lack of requisite knowledge, and poor adaptive therapeutic skills influence professional practice when working with a diverse clientele?

This blog was created by: Prattima Kaulessar & Danielle Muhammad

A Cry for HELP!!!

According to Ervin, Gimpel, and Merrell (2006), development of knowledge and skills in prevention services is an integral part of school psychology training programs. Part of this is the prevention and evaluation of suicide and violent acts. This emphasis is become more and more common with the increase in school violence and the publicity that school shooting have had. Often the school psychologist is believed to hold the most knowledge of suicide, depression, violent tendencies and so forth in the school.

Yet do you feel prepared to take on this role? As school psychologists we will be asked to evaluate whether a student is on a path to violence as well as suicide.

Reddey (2001) has a three principle process to assess a student's likelihood of violent actions: "(1) Targeted violence is a result of an interaction among the students, situation, target, and setting; there is not single "type" of student prone to such acts;
(2) evaluators must make a distinction between a student who makes threats versus poses a threat;
(3) targeted violence is often the product of an understandable pattern of thinking and behavior".

-Do we have any required classes that offer instruction on preventive strategies or risk factors of suicide?

-Do you feel prepared to make decision on whether a student is likely to commit a violent act or tendency to commit suicide?

If you do feel comfortable what preparations did you make or classes did you take?

This blog was created by Rebecca Guenther and Danielle Allegra.

Pregnancy Pact

The situation is brought to you as a school psychologist that a group of girls in your building are planning to become pregnant at the same time because of the publicity it generated.

How do you handle this situation? What are the ethical and legal ramifications of your plans of actions?

This blog was created by Alaafia Ajibade & Mike Drozdick

NSPLB: No School Psychologist Left Behind

According to Ervin, Gimpel, and Merrell (2006, p 140), it has been “expected” that school psychologists perform refer-test-place tasks and do traditional diagnostic roles. Teachers and parents have seen the psychologist's primary function as one of assessing children to determine if they are in need of receiving special education services. A problem occurs between the actual and preferred roles of the school psychologist and also the current and recommended practices that they use. In addition, there is a huge increase in children who are in need of special education services due to awareness, teachers wanting a disruptive child out of their class, increased stress on testing due to NCLB, and many parents wanting their children to receive aid on testing.

With this influx of children who are in need and requesting tested and financial problems within the state do you think there is any time for a school psychologist to do anything but test the children that require testing?

How much can be expected of the school psychologist and where should our focus be?

This blog was created by Rebecca Guenther and Danielle Allegra.

Paradigm Shift

We believe that much of the existing struggle in moving forward and expanding our practice roles from “what is” in our current practice to “what should be” is a result of the difficulties we face as we try to step away from traditional roles that have now become institutionalized. In essence, what has traditionally or historically dominated our practice roles (i.e., traditional diagnostic and refer-test-place tasks) has become our expected. Others (teachers, administrators, parents, etc.) have come to know the school psychologist as one whose primary and most visible function has been the psychoeducational assessment and diagnosis of children to determine their eligibility for special education and/or related services (Fagan, 1995; Lentz & Shapiro, 1985).


However, eligibility is not determined by the school psychologist alone. The implementation of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act) brought about the need for an IEP team to conjunctively evaluate whether a child meets the criteria to be placed in a special education program (Jacob & Hartshorne, 2007).
How can we as school psychologists work more effectively with other members of the IEP team in order to ensure that students’ needs are being met? As future school psychologists, how do you see your role in relation to other members of the IEP team?

For many of us preparing to enter the field or have been in the field are inundated with “what is” our role as a school psychologist. How do we shift roles to “what should be” our function as a school psychologist? According to Merrell et al., 2006), we believe it is essential that school psychologists: (1) critically examine current practice and recognize the need to move beyond our traditional roles; (2) gain a thorough understanding of the shortcomings of the traditional roles (understand why we need to try alternative approaches); (3) establish a clear vision of our role as a data-driven problem solver and implement this role in practice; and (4) carefully evaluate the utility of any alternative practice that we implement.

The current practice to use a problem-solving approach has been effective and gives the school psychologist a more proactive stance in the school. However, despite advocacy for this approach and advances in problem-solving methodologies, and evidenced-based practices, schools do not readily adopt evidenced-based practices (Abbott, Walton, Tapia, & Greenwood, 1999; Carnine 1997, 1999; Fornes, 2003a; Friedma, 2003, Hunter, 2003).

How do we make effective practices an accepted and necessary approach in the school?

Would this approach help us to identify issues earlier, and offer more
opportunities for early intervention?

This blog was created by Mark Newman and Anel DeJesus.

To Be or not to be a Ph.D?!?!?!

According to Merrell, Ervin and Gompel, “One of the first decisions that must be considered is whether to pursue training at a doctoral level or at a specialist level.” (2006, pg. 77). To work as a school psychologist, most public schools do not require training past a masters or specialist degree. As the responsibilities of a school psychologist diversify and becomes more demanding, would we benefit from doctoral level training?

There are many obstacles that a graduate student may face when deciding whether or not to continue training past a master’s degree. Many of us do not have the luxury to pursue a doctorate full time. With the unemployment rate in the U.S. reaching double digits those of us who are working are doing all we can to hold on to our jobs to support ourselves and our families. So for those of us who cannot pursue a doctorate, what are our other options? What can we do to help us mature and develop into our roles as future school psychologists? What supplemental courses/classes/training do you think you will need to take after the seventy-four credit requirement of our program?

This Blog was created by Ana Palma, Alarys Medina and Amanda Bisheit

Confidentiality is Key

What are the limits of confidentiality and providing direct services to the student?

According to Jacobs and Hawthorne (2006, p. 65) confidentiality is described as an ethical decision or agreement not to expose any personal information about the individual unless:

· The individual requests that information be shared with another party

· There is a situation involving danger to the individual or others

· There are legal obligations to testify in a court of law

As school psychologist, we are encouraged to discuss the limitations of confidentiality at the onset of services. We are asking our clients to share their innermost thoughts and feelings with us and assuring them that the information will remain confidential, contingent upon the content.

Do you think that a conditional promise of confidentiality will help or hinder the psychologist’s effectiveness with the client?

This Blog was created by Danielle Muhammad and Prattima Kaulessar.

Resiliency: The Best View of the Sky is from the Ground

We can teach resilience.

Resilience- the ability to cope successfully with adversity, is not only a naturally developed skill that many use as a means of survival, it is an ability that can be shaped and encouraged through specific activities that can be effectively taught in the classroom. "Contributory Activities", those activities in which children are involved in helping others, have been shown to make children less likely to display negative or angry behaviors and to foster resilience or practical problem solving. When we can convince children that they make a difference in the way we live, and we work at communicating with them in positive ways, they respond.

Even though schools are great places to develop resilience in children, parents can encourage practical problem solving by discussing why things have to be done, having family meetings, and collaborating about the conditions under which activities will be completed. Drs. Kenneth A. Dodge and Robert Brooks assert in the book Raising Resilient Children, that "success builds upon success, and that children faced with oceans of adversity, must be helped to find islands of competence."

As school psychologists, we can contribute to the relations our students have with us and to their levels of desire to persevere, adapt and thrive in their environments. We can teach ways to self-regulate ,and help our students to maintain good strong mentoring relationships.

The circumstances in the districts where we work can be dire. Children are failed by us more often than they are served. In addition to seeing the natural sparks in the metaphorical eyes of the children we serve, we must uncover the buried sparks and ignite sparks where they have been extinguished. What are some specific interventions that can encourage children?

Posted by Tammarra R. Jones.

Beyond Logical...

While completing my practicum hours as a school psychology candidate, I've found my placement district to be a very punitive environment. I think the logic behind the discipline policies is that consistency, clearly defined consequences, and regiment will yield desirable behavioral results. However, there is a plethora of research to suggest that using punishment to shape behavior is ineffective and often yields the opposite of the desired result. Clearly, their policies are ineffective because their rate of suspensions is near surpassing the state average. So, how do we as school psychologists, being familiar with empirical data on discipline, persuade our schools to change their policies?

Posted by Jessica Szybowski

A Change is Coming...

We are approaching a new wave in school psychology.

The change has been a long time coming! Decades of blind support for fashionable interventions and instructional techniques have utilized precious resources and failed to create any significant effects in our student's ultimate trajectories. Our goals for our schools, whether focused on academic growth or a decline in substance abuse, were often undefined and progress went unmeasured. Did we know whether these programs were effective?!

The answer is a resounding, "NO!"

There is a new movement. A movement encouraging us to bridge the gap between research and practice. Clearly the question becomes, "How?" What is your mission statement? In what aspect of your practice do you envision yourself making the strongest commitment to making empirically driven, data-based decisions?

This blog was created by Roxane Nassirpour and Tjasa Korda

Improving the Evidence-Based Practice Movement

We know that a problem solving approach is outcome-focused, data-driven, integrally linked to intervention, and context-specific.

Evidenced-Based Practice (EBP) as a problem solving approach “refers to a body of scientific knowledge, defined usually by reference to research methods or designs, about a range of service practices (e.g., referral, assessment, case management, therapies, or support services)”. It is directly related to applying data-orientated problem solving to students’ mental health and social-emotional needs. When deciding which type of EBP is appropriate in the school setting, we can take into consideration some of the most effective strategies:

· Parent Management Training (PMT)
· Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

(For additional information on PMT and CBT please see the link below:)
http://draweb.njcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pdh&AN=ccp-60-5-733&site=ehost-live
· Psychopharmacology (using psychostimulants/medication)

These are only three of many new approaches developing among contemporary literature. With all the different types of methods of intervention and prevention under the EBP umbrella, how do we decide which one will work best for us? Seeing that this method of practice is fairly new, how can we begin to shift the paradigm from traditional to an EBP approach? Do you agree that practicing school psychologists traditionally trained (i.e., relying on clinical judgment rather than the scientific method or the empirical literature) are the primary offenders of underidentification and misidentification of mental health problems in school settings?

This blog was created by Jamie Cowan and Tahina Reyes

I CAN"T TAKE IT ANYMORE....

Suicide is one of the three leading causes of death among adolescents. It is estimated that in 2001 there were approximately 9.9 completed suicides per 100,000 adolescents in the 15-to24-year age group and 1.3 suicides per 100,000 children in the 10-to14-year age group (National Institute of Mental Health, 2004).

Suppose you had a 17 year old female student come to your office. She is terribly distraught that her boyfriend that she has been with for the past year has cheated on her and wants nothing to do with her. She can hardly keep her composure and keeps saying that she wants to die and she is going to kill herself. She tells you exactly how she will go about taking her own life. She states that she is going to take a bottle of aspirin and down it with a pint of vodka. How would you assess this situation? What do you think is the degree of lethality of this suicidal ideation? What would be your course of action?

This blog was created by Desiree Antas.