327 Alexander T. Becnel, Lillian Range, Theodore P. Remley, Jr. School Counselors’ Exposure to Student Suicide, Suicide Assessment Self-Efficacy, and Workplace Anxiety: Implications for Training, Practice, and Research In a national sample of current school counselors with membership in the American School Counselor Association (N = 226), we examined the prevalence of suicide training among school counselors as well as differences in suicide assessment self-efficacy and workplace anxiety between school counselors who were exposed to student suicide and those who were not. The results indicate that 38% of school counselors were not prepared for suicide prevention during graduate training. Although school counselors’ exposure to suicide was not related to their workplace anxiety, those who were exposed to a student suicide attempt had higher suicide assessment self-efficacy scores than those who were not. This study demonstrates the impact of suicide exposure on school counselors and the need for additional suicide assessment training. Keywords: school counselors, suicide, suicide assessment, self-efficacy, workplace anxiety Suicide continues to be a growing concern for young people in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among children between the ages of 11 and 18, claiming the lives of 2,127 middle school– and high school–aged children in 2019 alone (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). In 2019, a nationwide survey found that 18.8% of high school students reported seriously considering attempting suicide, 15.7% reported making a plan to attempt suicide, and 8.9% reported attempting suicide (Ivey-Stephenson et al., 2019). As youth suicide rates continue to rise (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2019), it is becoming increasingly important to understand how school counselors are prepared to work with suicidal youth, as well as the impact of suicidality on them. Children and adolescents spend significant amounts of time at school, making school counselors the primary suicide and risk assessors for this population (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2020b). School counselors are more likely to assess youth for suicide risk than any other mental health professional (Schmidt, 2016). In 2002, a national study of ASCA members found that 30% of professional school counselors experienced a suicide-related crisis event while they were graduate student interns (Allen et al., 2002). In a more recent study, about two thirds of school counselors reported that they were conducting multiple suicide assessments each month (Gallo, 2018). Stickl Haugen et al. (2021) found that 79.8% of school counselors worked with a student who had previously attempted suicide and 36.7% experienced a student’s death by suicide. As school counselors become more frequently exposed to student suicide, it is important to understand their preparation for this role and the impact of these events on the school counselors themselves. School Counselor Suicide and Crisis Training Although school counselors are often exposed to student suicide, many school counselors lack appropriate crisis intervention and suicide assessment training (Allen et al., 2002; Springer et al., 2020; The Professional Counselor™ Volume 11, Issue 3, Pages 327–339 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2021 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi: 10.15241/atb.11.3.327 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.
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