100 In counselor education programs, students acquire clinical experience through both practicum and internship; this time frequently marks students’ first counseling experiences working with suicide in a clinical context. Often, students in practicum or internship working with clients who may be experiencing suicidal ideations do not feel properly equipped to deal with suicide. This study aimed to develop a practice model for online counselor education programs that increases counseling students’ self-efficacy to work with clients who may present with suicidal ideations. Sixty online graduate-level clinical mental health counseling students completed a pre- and posttest self-efficacy assessment. Findings showed that students’ self-efficacy increased due to taking the online basic counseling skills class that included teaching activities related to suicide screening, assessment, and intervention. Keywords: self-efficacy, suicide, assessment and intervention, online counselor education, practice model Despite a growing body of research and evidence-based interventions, suicide remains the 11th leading cause of death in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). A 2014 World Health Organization report (WHO; 2014) estimated that more lives were lost to suicide than to war, conflict, and natural disasters combined. More recently, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP; 2023) estimated that in 2021 there were 1.7 million suicide attempts; more than 48,000 Americans died by suicide. In 2023, trends showed about 130 suicides per day (AFSP, 2023). To address the ongoing concern of suicide risk, counselor education programs are expected to prepare students for work with diverse clients who experience suicidal ideations (Wachter Morris & Barrio Minton, 2012). Specifically, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2023) requires counseling programs to provide counselors-in-training (CITs) with skills in crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and response models and strategies, as well as proper assessment and management of suicidal ideations. There are no consistent suicide prevention or intervention training standards or models among counselor education programs. Organizations such as the American Association of Suicidology have recommended that suicide knowledge and assessment be at the forefront of health care by having (a) graduate programs require suicide knowledge and skills acquisition in their curriculum, (b) state licensure boards require suicide-specific education for renewal of licenses, (c) government-funded health care systems and hospitals require staff training in suicide assessment and management, and (d) staff appropriately trained to assess, manage, or treat patients who experience suicidal thoughts (Schmitz et al., 2012). The Professional Counselor™ Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 100–112 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2024 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi: 10.15241/aap.14.1.100 Ashley Ascherl Pechek, Kristin A. Vincenzes, Kellie Forziat-Pytel, Stephen Nowakowski, Leandrea Romero-Lucero Teaching Suicide Assessment and Intervention Online: A Model of Practice Ashley Ascherl Pechek, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, is an associate professor at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Kristin A. Vincenzes, PhD, NCC, ACS, BC-TMH, LPC, is a professor at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Kellie Forziat-Pytel, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, is an assistant professor at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Stephen Nowakowski is a graduate student at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Leandrea Romero-Lucero, PhD, ACS, LPCC, CSOTS, is an associate professor and Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Director at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Correspondence may be addressed to Ashley Ascherl Pechek, 401 N. Fairview Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, aap402@commonwealthu.edu.
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