The Role of School Psychologists in Partial Hospitalization Program-to-School Transitions

Abstract

Children and adolescents transitioning from partial hospitalization programs-to-schools have both mental health and educational needs. As the leading mental health experts in schools, school psychologists are uniquely suited to address the needs of these students. However, their role in this transition process has yet to be explored. This study begins to fill the gap in the empirical literature by investigating the actual role and function of school psychologists in partial hospitalization program-to-school transitions, the perceived barriers to successful transitions, and the school psychologist characteristics that predict involvement in the transition process. In addition, school psychologists' perceptions of the sufficiency of their training and the effectiveness of their current transition procedures were explored. Seventy-one school psychologists practicing around the country who had at least one student on their caseload attend a partial hospitalization program during the previous two years participated in an anonymous, internet-based survey. Results indicate that school psychologists had high levels of involvement in partial hospitalization program-to-school transitions, most frequently engaging in activities related to special education services (i.e., IEP meetings, psychoeducational assessments) and consultation with teachers. School psychologists with smaller caseloads had significantly higher levels of involvement than those with larger caseloads. The strongest barrier to successful transitions was insufficient communication among schools and partial hospitalization programs. School psychologists who served on a team specifically designed to address the needs of students transitioning from a hospital-to-school setting perceived their procedures to be more effective than non-team members. Overall, school psychologists perceived their training to transition students from partial hospitalization programs-to-school to be moderately sufficient; however, they perceived their current procedures to be moderately ineffective. Recommendations to improve the effectiveness of partial hospitalization program-to-school transitions are provided.