School Psychology Services

Abstract

American psychology has long recognized the contextual influence of practice in training psychologists. Like many other settings, schools have their own unique culture, procedures, and organization (Sarason, 1971). School psychologists (SPS) are specially trained to work within the context of school or educational settings. It is this special expertise and orientation to the practice of psychology in schools that is the focus of this chapter. Although SPS serve many functions in the schools, their primary roles include providing psychological assessment, individual and group consultation, and counseling/intervention services. SPS are also frequently involved in the planning and implementation of prevention programs as well as serving as a resource for program evaluation efforts in schools. School psychologists typically work from a developmental and ecological perspective. In this way, psychological assessments attend equally to within-child variables (i.e., development, attitudes, physical) and ecological variables, which include the influence of the classroom and home environments on classroom behavior and academic progress. SPS primarily served as "gatekeepers" for special education up until the late 1970s (Brown, 1981). There was a decrease in the ratio of SPS to students (Carey & Wilson, 1995), which left more time for SPS to provide services other than assessment (e.g., consultation, counseling, prevention programming). This chapter outlines services provided by SPS, including psychoeducational assessments, consultation as a mode of indirect intervention and counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)