CPS CPS Crisis Intervention & Mental Health Support 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Trauma-informed care in schools primarily focuses on:
- Identifying and punishing students who exhibit trauma symptoms
- Understanding how trauma affects learning and behavior to provide supportive responses (Correct answer)
- Reducing the number of referrals to special education
- Increasing standardized test scores among at-risk populations
Correct answer: Understanding how trauma affects learning and behavior to provide supportive responses
Trauma-informed care recognizes the widespread impact of trauma on students and integrates this knowledge into school policies and practices to support healing.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes secondary traumatic stress in school staff?
- Stress caused by excessive paperwork and administrative duties
- Emotional exhaustion from indirectly experiencing students' traumatic experiences (Correct answer)
- Physical illness resulting from poor school building conditions
- Burnout from teaching too many students at once
Correct answer: Emotional exhaustion from indirectly experiencing students' traumatic experiences
Secondary traumatic stress occurs when school staff absorb the trauma of the students they support, resulting in stress symptoms similar to those of direct trauma exposure.
Question 3: A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) in the context of mental health interventions is used to:
- Determine a student's academic grade level
- Identify the function or purpose of a student's challenging behavior (Correct answer)
- Screen students for learning disabilities
- Measure a student's IQ and cognitive functioning
Correct answer: Identify the function or purpose of a student's challenging behavior
An FBA identifies the antecedents, behaviors, and consequences to determine what function a challenging behavior serves for the student.
Question 4: Which early warning sign is most commonly associated with increased suicide risk in adolescents?
- Improved academic performance
- Withdrawal from friends, family, and previously enjoyed activities (Correct answer)
- Increased participation in extracurricular activities
- Interest in new hobbies and social groups
Correct answer: Withdrawal from friends, family, and previously enjoyed activities
Social withdrawal combined with changes in mood, giving away possessions, or talking about death are key warning signs of increased suicide risk.
Question 5: In school-based mental health, a 'warm handoff' refers to:
- A formal written referral to an outside therapist
- A direct, in-person introduction connecting a student to a mental health provider (Correct answer)
- A handshake greeting used in trauma-informed classrooms
- A method of transferring student records between schools
Correct answer: A direct, in-person introduction connecting a student to a mental health provider
A warm handoff is a direct, real-time transition where a trusted staff member personally introduces a student to a new mental health provider to improve engagement.
Question 6: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective in school settings primarily because it:
- Requires no training for school counselors to implement
- Targets the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a structured way (Correct answer)
- Focuses exclusively on medication management
- Is designed for long-term weekly sessions of over one year
Correct answer: Targets the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a structured way
CBT is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps students identify and change negative thought patterns that influence feelings and behaviors.
CPS CPS Crisis Intervention & Mental Health Support 2
Trauma-informed care in schools primarily focuses on: