Assessment and management of youth suicide risk is a key role for school psychologists. However, prior research indicates that psychologists commonly lack confidence and feel unprepared when they graduated to conduct risk assessments. This qualitative study explored nine Victorian early-career school psychologists' role in risk assessment, and…

Objective: Psychologists have a responsibility to conduct standardised assessment according to instructions in test manuals and guidelines in assessment texts. In practice, circumstances arise that are not addressed in manuals and texts. The aim of this study was to explore the ways in which experienced psychologists manage some of these issues.…

High school students attending Flexible Learning Programmes (FLPs) experience more speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) than those in mainstream, which may impact their academic engagement, socioemotional health, and future employment. We explored the effectiveness of a pilot workshop designed to increase educators' confidence to…

Many young people with mental disorders are not identified until some years after the first onset of symptoms and then frequently do not receive professional intervention. One promising strategy to better identify these young people is mental health screening in schools. Despite a growing literature on the benefits of school-based screening, it…

There are few studies examining the wellbeing of Australian school-based psychologists/counsellors (SPCs) despite the research indicating there are unique stressors associated with the role. The purpose of this study was to measure the stress perceived by working Australian SPCs. Data were collected via an online survey within which the Perceived…

This paper is a post-qualitative inquiry (PQI) exploring how, and with what effect, school psychologists support the translation of psychoeducational reports into pedagogy for children who experience learning difficulties. Using the knowledge-making practices of three Australian school psychologists, and my own experience as a practicing school…

Objective: This study explored how psychologists in Australia assess and diagnose adults with dyslexia. Psychologists' understandings about dyslexia were recorded alongside the tools used for diagnosing adults with dyslexia (and how these differ from practices with young people). Training experiences and influential factors on diagnostic…

School counsellors implement preventative programs to build student resilience and coping skills to counteract the rising mental health needs of children in Australia. School-based meditation programs are effective for individuals and groups, with documented benefits. Most literature examines mindfulness meditation, and the current, exploratory…

This paper examines the emerging professional expectation that school psychologists will be able to demonstrate competency in delivering services to Indigenous students. We argue that achieving this competency requires an underpinning Indigenous rights-based perspective embedded in professional education and practice. We discuss the historical…

Prior research suggests mindfulness-based interventions effectively reduce stress in trainee psychologists, enhance wellbeing and cultivate clinical skills and competencies. This study explored how trainee school psychologists perceived the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on their development as psychologists. Forty trainee school…

Research suggests that the incidents of self-harm among young people are increasing and age of onset of self-harm is decreasing. There is limited understanding of how widespread the problem of self-harm among younger school students is, and how schools respond to these incidents. This study used an in-depth qualitative approach to understand…

This exploratory study aimed to identify the ways psychologists working in schools supported students' mental health during school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was developed to determine (a) how psychologists working in schools across the United States, Canada, Germany, and Australia supported students' mental health…

People's career choices are not necessarily the unfolding of normative experiences. Instead, trauma experienced as cumulate harm throughout childhood affects developmental trajectories and career choices. There is, however, a dearth of research into the influences of cumulative harm on career development. The present research addresses that gap in…

COVID-19 presented a range of challenges to the delivery of school psychology services in countries around the world. The current study aimed to investigate the practices of school psychologists from the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including changes to practice and exploration of the factors that…

Positive education can be broadly defined as the integration of traditional academics with building student character and well-being (Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivich, & Linkins, 2009). More specifically, positive education examines the impact of interventions and programs on student well-being (White & Murray, 2015). Biennially, the…