Best Practices: The Relationship Between School Counselors\u27 Self-Efficacy And Conducting Suicide Risk Assessments

The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional study is to investigate the self-efficacy of middle and high school counselors in the state of Louisiana as it relates to their ability to conduct youth suicide risk assessments. Broadly, the study compares the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP accredited and non-accredited school counselors to determine if CACREP accreditation equips school counselors with higher self-efficacy. To this end, the study employs the Counselor Suicide Assessment Efficacy Survey (CSAES) scale to analyze degrees of self-efficacy in conjunction with a demographic survey of sample characteristics associated with educational preparation, training, and professional experiences of school counselors. This study will examine school counselor’s self-efficacy in order to provide data for practical and evidenced-based training in suicide intervention through existing CACREP accredited and non-CACREP accredited counseling programs. Results from the study may be used to improve the content of vi counselor education programs and better prepare school counselors with identifying suicide ideation, performing risk assessments, and overall, preventing suicidal acts by youth