Crisis Intervention

Many questions have been raised about the role of school psychologists in crisis intervention (i.e., strategies to use in a crisis) over the last two decades. Poland and Pitcher (1992) emphasized the need for schools to be prepared for violence that might come from outside the school, such as a violent act committed by a disturbed adult. The highly publicized school shootings that occurred in the mid-to-late 1990s, including the mass murders at Columbine High School, highlight the fact that school safety is an inside job requiring a commitment first of all from students, as the majority of the recent violent acts at schools have been committed by student perpetrators. There has been an increased level of emphasis on crisis training for school psychologists in recent years (Poland & colleagues, 2002) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has provided leadership at both the state and national level.

NASP formed the National Emergency Assistance Team (NEAT) in 1996 with an emphasis on advocacy, training, and emergency mobile response. The team received a great deal of publicity for providing on-site assistance following school shootings in locations such as Paducah, Jonesboro, Littleton, Springfield, and El Cajon.

NASP also formed very strong alliances with the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) and the U.S. Department of Education. NOVA is best known for its Community Response Teams that are sent when requested to communities that have experienced a crisis, whether it is the result of a violent act or a natural disaster.

Many workshops have been conducted at both the state and national levels to increase both the skills and confidence of school psychologists to respond to a crisis. A number of state school psychology associations (e.g., Florida, Georgia, Colorado, and California) have formed their own crisis teams. NASP is also currently working on training standards for crisis intervention.

After Columbine the U.S. Department of Education developed Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence). Project SERV has provided both shortand long-term assistance to schools after a crisis, including sending members of the NEAT for initial assistance as well as providing funds through grants to hire additional counselors and to create prevention programs.

School psychologists are skilled in conducting processing sessions or debriefing for faculty and students after a tragedy. Poland and colleagues (2002) emphasized the importance of these skills for school psychologists and the reality that one processing model will not fit every situation; therefore, adaptations often need to be made. There have been a number of research studies on the effectiveness of processing interventions, and, although participants overwhelmingly reported that they were beneficial, the research has not consistently demonstrated benefits.