Diversity Of Diagnoses And Student Learning Experiences In An On-Campus School Psychology Assessment Center: Future Directions And Focus
Journal of Multicultural Affairs
Diversity Of Diagnoses And Student Learning Experiences In An On-Campus School Psycholog y Assessment Center: Future Directions And Focus
Nina M. Ellis-Hervey Ph.D. 0 1 2
N.C.S.P. 0 1 2
L.S.S.P. 0 1 2
P.L.P. Stephen F Austin State University 0 1 2
0 1 2
Ashley Doss B.S. 0 1 2
MAIO-Cert Stephen F. Austin State University 0 1 2
dossan 0 1 2
@titan.sfasu.edu 0 1 2
DeShae Davis-Gatti M.A. 0 1 2
0 Part of the Child Psychology Commons, Clinical Psychology Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Education Commons, and the School Psychology Commons Tell us how this article helped you
1 Juliet Aura BS/P Stephen F. Austin State University
2 Stephen F. Austin State University
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Diversity of Diagnoses and Student Learning Experiences in an On-Campus School Psychology Assessment Center: Future Directions and Focus
Nina M. Ellis-Hervey, Ashley Doss, DeShae
Davis-Gatti, and Juliet Aura
Stephen F. Austin State University
School Psychology Assessment Centers
developed at the University-level are crucial
in developing competent school
psychologists, as they advance from
graduate training into ethical practitioners.
Training at the graduate level provides
students with the opportunity to engage in
understanding the needs of the surrounding
communities in which they are located. The
National Association of School Psychologist
(NASP) Ethical Principles (2010), state that
school psychologists present an “ongoing
responsibility and support the development
of healthy schools, families, and
communities while also contributing to the
knowledge and research base, mentoring,
teaching, and supervision of future
psychologists”
(Ellis-Hervey, Doss, Davis,
& Bradford, 2016, p. 1)
. While many
models on how to develop mental health
centers in general are in existence (see:
IDCFS, Utah State, Oklahoma State, etc.), a
new model exists for creating a School
Psychology Assessment Center on a
University campus that is specifically
designed to serve the surrounding
community and postsecondary students by
providing services such as assessments,
diagnoses, and recommendations for
interventions
(see Ellis-Hervey et al., 2016)
.
This paper will identify, discuss, and
examine how a School Psychology
Assessment Center at a University may
present the opportunity to reduce barriers
common in poverty-stricken and ethnic
majority communities.
The School Psychology Assessment
Center (SPAC) at Stephen F. Austin State
University (SFASU) was developed in 2013
by Dr. Nina Ellis-Hervey. Currently, the
SPAC has been in operation for two and a
half years, serving an average of 15 to 20
clients per year, shared between two to three
graduate students supervised by faculty and
staff during the final stages of their program
(SFASU School Psychology Doctoral
Program). The mission of the SPAC is to
provide “affordable, quality mental health
assessment and care to the campus,
community and area residents”
(School
Psychology Assessment Center, 2016, para.
1)
. These services are provided through
assessments, measuring psychological,
emotional, behavioral, social, academic, and
occupational functioning of clients. The
SPAC was originally developed to address
potential links missing in the training
process of school psychologists at SFASU
(Ellis-Hervey et al., 2016)
. Established
within the School Psychology program, the
SPAC offers clients within the community a
service open to the public as well as
providing graduate students with the
opportunity to practice and refine skills
under direct supervision licensed
psychologists.
A primary component to development of
the SPAC at SFASU was identifying needs
within the community, school, and
environment in which the Clinic would be
housed
(Ellis-Hervey et al., 2016)
. Overall,
the community’s needs were reviewed,
including missing links in the region, and
identifying potential clients who would
benefit the most from services provided.
Understanding the services that are already
available within the community is a key
component to recognizing outreach services
as it provides clinicians with a way to make
partnerships to existing services, provide
additional supports, and fill in gaps that may
be identified by what is available within the
community. Partnerships were created
through the SPAC at SFASU that included
the Department Chair of Human Services,
the Dean of the College of Education,
Director of Disability Services, Dean of
Student Affair, the University Medical
Center Director, and the Director of
Counseling Services, examining how to
provide services through the program that
provided opportunities of rigorous training
for graduate students as well as
comprehensive and quality-ensured services
to the greater community
(Ellis-Hervey et
al., 2016)
.
The SPAC at SFASU was designed to
assist students in the acquisition and
application of services rendered to the public
while also benefiting the surr (...truncated)