by Rebecca Endres
“I hope that my work is impacting
positively upon the field of school psychology.”—Dana Boccio, Ph.D.
Almost as soon as she started
working as a school psychologist, Dana
Boccio, Ph.D., began to look for ways to improve her field. Now an
assistant professor at the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies,
she continues to study suicide assessment and prevention, vital topics that she
feels need to be addressed more in both schools and the workplace.
When she felt unprepared to give
suicide risk assessments to troubled youth early on in her career, Dr. Boccio
began to do some research. “I found that I was not alone,” she said. “A lot of
professionals working in the field were not well trained in suicide risk and
what to ask.”
To understand why this was the case,
she conducted a series of surveys. Her study revealed that only 63.5 percent of
school psychology directors reported that their students were offered training
in a standard, structured suicide risk assessment protocol. And a mere 44.4
percent of students interning in school settings were exposed to suicidal
clients. The numbers revealed a worrying dearth of training and field
experience.
Dr. Boccio and Erin McDonough, her
colleague from St. John’s University, have presented their data at conferences
to stress the vital importance field placements hold for students looking to be
school psychologists. “I hope that my work is impacting positively upon the
field of school psychology,” Dr. Boccio said.
In the very near future, practicing
school psychologists and other school-based mental health professionals will
benefit from Dr. Boccio’s recently developed the Student Suicide Risk
Assessment Protocol (SSRAP). Recently accepted for publication by the Journal
of Applied School Psychology, the SSRAP is a comprehensive instrument
designed to standardize the way professionals evaluate suicide risk.
Dr. Boccio regularly collaborates
with Derner students in her work and, with their help, is addressing such
topics as suicide risk assessments used in hospitals. Through her efforts and
tireless energy, more school psychology students can begin to understand how to
impact—and hopefully save—young lives.
