TPC-Journal-V6-Issue1

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 1 81 The participants represented a broad but targeted sampling from a variety of employers, including school settings (N = 166/49%); outpatient mental health settings (N = 108/32%); mental health agencies (N = 31/9%); and other settings (N = 33/10%); as well as one participant with an unknown employment setting. The participants also identified their employment environment as urban (N = 56/60%), rural (N = 174/52%), and suburban (N = 105/31%). Participants identified the practitioner responsible to assess suicide risk within their work setting having multiple response options (see Table 1). These included a psychiatrist (N = 85/25%), nurse (N = 57/17%), school counselor (N = 179/53%), social worker (N = 168/50%), teacher (N = 7/2%), school psychologist (N = 154/46%), school mental health professional (N = 125/37%), psychologist (N = 64/19%), professional counselor (N = 101/30%), and other (N = 29/9%) including paraprofessionals, while 19 participants (6%) reported they do not complete suicide risk assessments. Table 1 Participant discipline most likely responsible to provide a suicide risk assessment. Participant Response Percentage School Counselor 179 53% Social Worker 168 50% School Psychologist 154 46% School Based Mental Health Professional 125 37% Professional Counselor 101 30% Psychiatrist 85 25% Psychologist 64 19% Nurse 57 17% Other 29 9% We do not complete Suicide Risk Assessments 19 6% Teacher 7 2% * Participants were asked to identify the staff/discipline responsible for administering a suicide risk assessment within their work setting. Prior exposure with suicidal students/clients. In the survey, 288 (86%) of the participants reported having a student or client referred to them for being potentially suicidal; 45 (14%) did not receive a similar referral; and six participants did not respond. A majority of participants (N = 287/86%) reported having worked with a student or client initially found to be presenting with active suicidal thoughts and 48 (14%) reported not yet having worked with a suicidal student or client. Analysis Using descriptive data, participant responses were further examined to determine frequency and percentages of the total responses. In addition, inferential statistics were used to compute possible relationships among variables using SPSS. Data from the primary survey questions provided