Abstract

With the ever-increasing diversity among students in the United States, American schools are seeing more of a mismatch between school personnel and students. Service provision has traditionally addressed multicultural competencies in the area of assessment and more recently in counseling procedures. With the increased attention given to school-related crises, the role of school psychologists has expanded to include crisis intervention. The current study will present information on the need for multicultural competencies in crisis intervention and assess the current concerns of nationally certified school psychologists in this area of service provision. Responses from a random sample of school psychologists (n= 276, 81% return rate) indicated that almost half expressed a need for increased understanding of cultural issues when providing crisis intervention. However, the other half of participants reported having no concerns regarding multicultural issues in crisis provision, possibly reflecting a lack of awareness and sensitivity. Helpful resources are provided to assist practitioners in becoming more culturally competent in the area of crisis intervention.

Degree

EdS

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Counseling Psychology and Special Education

Rights

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