ABSTRACT
Crisis and trauma have become a central focus of the school psychologist’s role, given the prevalence and impact on children today. Crises are events, such as accidents, natural disasters, or victimization of crime, that are perceived as extremely negative (i.e., can cause extreme physical and/or emotional pain), often unpredictable, and generate feelings of powerlessness (Brock et al., 2009, 2016). According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; 2014), trauma is defined and conceptualized with regard to three Es, consisting of (a) the traumatic event itself; (b) the experience (i.e., perception of the event), which determines how one assigns meaning and responds to the event; and (c) short-term and long-term effects. The National Association of School Psychologists’ PREPaRE Model of School Crisis Prevention and Intervention (Brock et al., 2009, 2016) also recognizes the need to consider crisis and traumatic events in terms of type (e.g., interpersonal, intentional violence vs. a natural disaster), predictability, consequences (e.g., damage, injury, death), intensity of exposure, and duration (Brock et al., 2009, 2016), as well as individual variables (e.g., physical and emotional proximity to the event, risk and protective factors, threat perceptions, crisis reactions) within the context of local school and cultural norms.
