Crisis Intervention, Safety, and Trauma-Informed Practice
Core concepts
Know suicide risk assessment (ideation, plan, intent, means, protective factors), safety planning, and the difference between risk screening and full assessment. Understand duty to warn/protect, mandatory reporting, de-escalation, and trauma-informed principles (safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, empowerment). Recognize signs of abuse and neglect and the reporting process. Know how to respond to threats of violence, self-harm, and disclosures of trauma without re-traumatizing.
Traps
Questions often reward immediate safety actions when risk is imminent and thorough assessment when it is not. Avoid promising secrecy, minimizing disclosures, or leaving a high-risk student alone. Watch for answers that focus on documentation before securing safety, or that use restrictive or punitive responses to trauma-driven behavior. Also know that trauma-informed does not mean avoiding all discomfort; it means avoiding re-traumatization.
Worked example
A student discloses suicidal thoughts with a specific plan and access to means. Correct sequence: stay with the student, ensure immediate safety and means restriction, notify guardians and administration per protocol, connect to emergency services, then document. Sending the student home alone is the trap.
Rule of thumb
Imminent risk = safety first (stay, secure, notify, refer), then assess and document. Never promise confidentiality you cannot keep.