Tis the Season

With the return from the Thanksgiving weekend, we already seen an increase in the number of risk assessments.  Four of them in three days.  I wonder if the trend is going to continue.

So with this as a preface, I had a risk assessment, the fourth of the week so far.  A middle school student with reports of suicidal ideation.  I spent quite a long time on this one and didn't really come to a conclusion until I obtained collateral information from family members.  In the end, it was what the student didn't tell me and their family did that led to my decision.

So I was thinking about the role of a school psychologists and how it relates to the risk assessment.  During the assessment the thought crossed my mind, "I should just send the student out and be done with it."  Within the confines of the school, it seems to me that the general feeling is that we are to decide whether another mental health professional needs to assess the student rather actual determining whether the student is at risk.

Part of this feeling may come from the fact that we don't actually have any power outside the school.  We are only able to say that the student can't return to the school until they have been cleared by someone with the authority and license to do so.  So does that absolve us from investigating further?  Does it mean that we should just CYA (or COA)?

I don't think so.  In my district, we have a relationship with the local screening center where we complete a report (a much briefer report than my actual in-district write up) and fax it to the center, as well as giving them a heads up call.  So by digging deeper and asking more questions and seeking further information, we may end up getting information that won't be given to the professionals at the hospital.  Either because the student/family may change their story on the way there or just refuse to discuss certain issues that may have been discussed in the school.

I'll also reiterate another piece of advice that I have picked up from the people that really trained me in risk assessment.  Some excellent people indeed.  That advice is: take your time.  Don't let anyone rush you.  Not the student; not the guidance counselor; not the principal.  If you have questions, make sure you ask them.  Don't feel like you have to fill the silence.  You can take your time and think of your next question.  And don't feel silly for asking the same question again, particularly if you something is bothering you about the first answer.

Like I said, it was what the student didn't tell me and their evasiveness that led me to ask further questions and seek out other sources of information that ultimately led to my decision.