DIGEST - Volume 11, Issue 3-FULL ISSUE

8 TPC Digest Alexander T. Becnel, Lillian Range, Theodore P. Remley, Jr. School Counselors’ Exposure to Student Suicide, Suicide Assessment Self-Efficacy, and Workplace Anxiety | TPC Digest S u icide is one of the top leading causes of death among school-aged youth. As suicide rates continue to rise, it is important to understand how school counselors are prepared to work with suicidal youth, as well as the impact of youth suicide on those counselors. Although school counselors are more likely to assess youth for suicide risk than any other mental health professional, research has demonstrated that they do not feel adequately prepared for this task, even though the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) mandates suicide assessment and prevention training. Other mental health professionals often question their judgment following an exposure to suicide. Consequently, it is imperative to explore school counselor self-efficacy in the aftermath of a suicide given that school counselors are often exposed to student suicide. A previous study found a relationship between exposure to student suicide deaths and school counselor suicide self-efficacy but did not account for years of school counseling experience as a potential covariate. Moreover, that study did not examine anxiety, an important personal impact, nor did it examine self-efficacy in dealing with suicide attempts, a more likely occurrence than suicide deaths. In this study, we explored the prevalence of school counselor training in suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and suicide postvention in a national sample ( N = 226) of current American School Counselor Association (ASCA) members. Additionally, we also investigated differences in suicide assessment self-efficacy and workplace anxiety between school counselors who were exposed to suicide and those not exposed while accounting for years of school counseling experience. We also explored the relationship between the number of suicide exposures and school counselors’ suicide assessment self-efficacy while accounting for years of school counseling experience. We found that nearly 1 in 3 school counselors were not adequately prepared to provide suicide prevention or crisis intervention services to their students, and more than half were unprepared for suicide postvention. Although exposures to student deaths by suicide did not relate to suicide assessment self-efficacy, exposures to student suicide attempts were significantly related to suicide assessment self-efficacy. Workplace anxiety was not significantly related to student suicide exposure. T he results of this study indicate that training programs are not adequately preparing school counselors to perform essential suicide- and crisis-related duties. The findings are particularly troubling given that both CACREP and ASCA recognize the necessity of preparing school counselors to assess and prevent suicide. In addition, the results indicate that student suicide attempts play a larger role in suicide assessment self-efficacy than student deaths by suicide. It is possible that the suicide attempt experience either motivated school counselors to seek additional training or worked as a training substitute. T he results suggest that counselor education programs and possibly CACREP should increase efforts to appropriately prepare school counselors to address suicide. School counselors should also prepare for the probability of facing a student suicide by seeking continuing education opportunities. Finally, we recommend that education programs focus training efforts on suicide attempts through specific role plays to increase school counselors’ confidence in their assessment skills. Alexander T. Becnel, PhD, NCC, LPC, is a doctoral candidate at the University of Holy Cross. Lillian Range, PhD, is a professor at the University of Holy Cross. Theodore P. Remley, Jr., JD, PhD, NCC, is a professor at the University of Holy Cross. Correspondence may be addressed to Alexander T. Becnel, 4123 Woodland Drive, New Orleans, LA 70131, abecnel2@uhcno.edu . Implications for Training, Practice, and Research