This study explored rural school counselors’ experiences regarding their preparation and response to natural disasters. Using descriptive phenomenology, we examined the perspectives of 10 school counselors and identified four themes that captured their experiences: (a) the need for disaster mental health training, (b) the value of rural community collaboration, (c) the influence of multiple roles, and (d) personal reactions to disaster response. We provide implications and recommendations about expanding crisis training to include disaster mental health.
ApplingB. M.TuttleM.MayV. S. (2020). The experiences of school counselors who collaborate with clinical mental health counselors. Professional School Counseling, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X19882660
4.
ArmstrongT. (2017, October3). Hurricane Matthew in the Carolinas: October 8, 2016. National Weather Service. https://www.weather.gov/ilm/Matthew
5.
AtenJ. D.ToppingS.DenneyR. M.BayneT. G. (2010). Collaborating with African American churches to overcome minority disaster mental health disparities: What mental health professionals can learn from Hurricane Katrina. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(2), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018116
6.
Avent HarrisJ.CrumbL. (2021). Black pastors and counselors: Creating meaningful collaborations to enhance mental health awareness in rural areas [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Counselor Education Faculty, East Carolina University
7.
BernsteinM.PfefferbaumB. (2018). Posttraumatic growth as a response to natural disasters in children and adolescents. Current Psychiatry Reports, 20(37), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0900-4
8.
BourqueL. B.SiegelJ. M.KanoM.WoodM. M. (2006). Weathering the storm: The impact of hurricanes on physical and mental health. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604, 129–151.
Carnes-HoltK.WeatherfordJ. (2013). Intensive play therapy training for rural mental health counselors. The Family Journal, 21(1), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480712456825
11.
CobhamV. E.McDermottB.HaslamD.SandersM. R. (2016). The role of parents, parenting and the family environment in children’s post-disaster mental health. Current Psychiatry Reports, 18(6), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0691-4
12.
CohenJ. A.JaycoxL. H.WalkerD. W.MannarinoA. P.LangleyA. K.DuClosJ. L. (2009). Treating traumatized children after Hurricane Katrina: Project Fleur-de Lis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 12(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-009-0039-2
CreswellJ. W.CreswellJ. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage.
15.
CrumbL.ClarkM.LongS. M. (2020). Finding strength in the struggle: Addressing the mental health needs of children and families living in rural poverty. In GreeneH.ZugelderB.MannerJ. (Eds.), Handbook of research on leadership and advocacy for children and families in rural poverty (pp. 195–219). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2787-0.ch009
16.
CrumbL.HaskinsN. H.BrownS. (2019). Integrating social justice advocacy into mental health counseling in rural, impoverished American communities. The Professional Counselor, 9(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.15241/lc.9.1.20
17.
DeanK. L.LangleyA. K.KataokaS. H.JaycoxL. H.WongM.SteinB. D. (2008). School-based disaster mental health services: Clinical, policy, and community challenges. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(1), 52–57. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.39.1.52
18.
GiorgiA. (2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach. Duquesne University.
19.
GoodmanR. D.MillerM. D.West-OlatunjiC. A. (2012). Traumatic stress, socioeconomic status, and academic achievement among primary school students. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 4(3), 252–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024912
Hann-MorrisonD. (2011). The varied roles of school counselors in rural settings. Georgia School Counselors Association Journal, 18(1), 26–33. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ963124.pdf
23.
HaysD. G.SinghA. A. (2012). Qualitative inquiry in clinical and educational settings. Guilford.
24.
HydonS.WongM.LangleyA. K.SteinB. D.KataokaS. H. (2015). Preventing secondary traumatic stress in educators. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 24(2), 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2014.11.003
JamesonJ. P.BlankM. B. (2007). The role of clinical psychology in rural mental health services: Defining problems and developing solutions. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 14(3), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2007.00089.x
27.
JohnsonJ. (2020). Exploring the supervision expectations and experiences of rural school counselors [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Walden University.
28.
KataokaS. H.NadeemE.WongM.LangleyA. K.JaycoxL. H.SteinB. D.YoungP. (2009). Improving disaster mental health care in schools: A community-partnered approach. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(6), S225–S229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.08.002
29.
KeeslerJ. M.TuckerM.TerrellB.ShipmanK.OsborneR. (2021). Two schools, one rural county: Exploring adverse childhood experiences among school-aged youth. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 30(1), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2020.1747130
MoranK.BodenhornN. (2015). Elementary school counselors’ collaboration with community mental health providers. Journal of School Counseling, 13(4). http://www.jsc.montana.edu/articles/v13n4.pdf
32.
MullenP. R.CroweA. (2017). Self-stigma of mental illness and help seeking among school counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 95(4), 401–411. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12155
33.
MullenP. R.GutierrezD. (2016). Burnout, stress and direct student services among school counselors. The Professional Counselor, 6(4), 344–359. https://doi.org/10.15241/pm.6.4.344
34.
NadeemE.JaycoxL. H.KataokaS. H.LangleyA. K.SteinB. D. (2011). Going to scale: Experiences implementing a school-based trauma intervention. School Psychology Review, 40(4), 549–568. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2011.12087529
NeriaY.GaleaS.NorrisF. F. (Eds.). (2009). Mental health and disasters. Cambridge University.
38.
PowA. M.CashwellC. S. (2017). Posttraumatic stress disorder and emotion-focused coping among disaster mental health counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 95(3), 322–331. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12146
39.
ProbstJ. C.BarkerJ. C.EndersA.GardinerP. (2018). Current state of child health in rural America: How context shapes children’s health. The Journal of Rural Health, 34, s3–s12. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12222
40.
SchulenbergS. E. (2016). Disaster mental health and positive psychology. Considering the context of natural and technological disasters: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(12), 1223–1233. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22409
41.
Self-BrownS.LaiB.PattersonA.GlasheenT. (2017). The impact of natural disasters on youth: A focus in emerging research beyond internalizing disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(53), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0798-2
42.
ShenY. J.SinkC. A. (2002). Helping elementary-age children cope with disasters. Professional School Counseling, 5(5), 322–330.
SuttonJ. M.PearsonR. (2002). The practice of school counseling in rural and small town schools. Professional School Counseling, 5(4), 266–276. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732349
47.
TaylorL. K.WeistM. D.DeLoachK. (2012). Exploring the use of the interactive systems framework to guide school mental health services in post-disaster contexts: Building community capacity for trauma-focused interventions. American Journal of Community Psychology, 50(3), 530–540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9501-2
VernbergE. M.HambrickE. P.ChoB.HendricksonM. L. (2016). Positive psychology and disaster mental health: Strategies for working with children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(12), 1333–1347. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22289
West-OlatunjiC.GoodmanR. (2007). Culture-centered mental health disaster interventions with children and adolescents. In Proceedings of the 12th International Counseling Conference, 12 (pp. 41–44).
52.
West-OlatunjiC.GoodmanR. (2011). Entering communities: Social justice-oriented disaster response counseling. Journal of Humanistic Counseling Education and Development, 50, 172–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1939.2011.tb00116.x
53.
West-OlatunjiC.YoonE. (2013). Culture-centered perspectives on disaster and crisis counseling. Journal of Asia Pacific Counseling, 3(1), 35–43. https://doi.org/10.18401/2013.3.1.3
54.
WilliamsonV.CreswellC.FearonP.HillerR. M.WalkerJ.HalliganS. L. (2017). The role of parenting behaviors in childhood post-traumatic stress disorder: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 53, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.01.005
55.
WilsonT. A.SchaefferS.BruceM. A. (2015). Supervision experiences of rural school counselors. The Rural Educator, 36(2) 27–37. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v36i2.341
YutrzenkaB. A.NaifehJ. A. (2008). Traumatic stress, disaster psychology, and graduate education: Reflections on the special section and recommendations for professional psychology training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 2(2), 96–102. https://doi.org/10.1037/1931-3918.2.2.96
