SSW Crisis Intervention & Mental Health 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a school lockdown, a student with autism spectrum disorder becomes severely dysregulated due to sensory overload and begins self-injurious behavior. The social worker's BEST immediate approach is to:
- Restrain the student to prevent self-harm until the lockdown ends
- Move the student to a quieter space if safe, use low-stimulation calming strategies, and engage familiar support person (Correct answer)
- Conduct a crisis debriefing interview to understand the student's feelings
- Administer the student's medication from the nurse's office
Correct answer: Move the student to a quieter space if safe, use low-stimulation calming strategies, and engage familiar support person
Students with ASD in crisis benefit from reduced sensory input, consistent familiar support, and individualized de-escalation strategies rather than restraint or verbal processing.
Question 2: Which trauma-informed principle is violated when a school disciplinary process punishes a student without first considering whether the behavior may be trauma-related?
- Transparency
- Trustworthiness
- Recognition that behavior may be a trauma response (Correct answer)
- Peer support
Correct answer: Recognition that behavior may be a trauma response
Trauma-informed practice requires recognizing that challenging behaviors may be manifestations of trauma rather than willful misconduct.
Question 3: A social worker is conducting a mental health screening after a school shooting. A student scores high on a PTSD screening measure but adamantly refuses services. The social worker should:
- Document the refusal and close the case
- Respect the refusal, provide psychoeducation about trauma, leave door open for future contact, and notify parents per school policy (Correct answer)
- Mandate participation in group counseling as a condition of returning to class
- Diagnose the student with PTSD and refer to an outside provider without further contact
Correct answer: Respect the refusal, provide psychoeducation about trauma, leave door open for future contact, and notify parents per school policy
Honoring student autonomy while maintaining connection, providing education, and involving family reflects trauma-informed ethical practice for youth who decline services.
Question 4: The concept of 'means restriction' in suicide prevention refers to:
- Limiting a suicidal student's access to peer relationships
- Reducing a student's access to lethal methods such as firearms or medications (Correct answer)
- Restricting online access for students with suicidal ideation
- Reducing the number of school counseling sessions for suicidal students
Correct answer: Reducing a student's access to lethal methods such as firearms or medications
Means restriction involves reducing access to lethal methods and is one of the most evidence-based strategies in suicide prevention.
Question 5: A school social worker is part of a crisis response team activated after a student's death by suicide. Which of the following is a KEY principle of school-based postvention?
- Announce the cause of death school-wide via PA system to ensure transparency
- Avoid identifying the student by name in any school communications
- Provide support to grieving students while avoiding contagion-risk behaviors such as memorialization at school (Correct answer)
- Cancel all school activities for one week to allow full grief processing
Correct answer: Provide support to grieving students while avoiding contagion-risk behaviors such as memorialization at school
Effective postvention supports students in grief while avoiding practices like prominent memorialization that can romanticize suicide and increase contagion risk.
Question 6: A student presents with sudden onset of mutism, dissociation, and an inability to recall a traumatic incident that occurred two hours ago. This is MOST consistent with:
- Malingering
- Acute Stress Disorder with dissociative features (Correct answer)
- Selective mutism unrelated to trauma
- Depressive disorder with psychotic features
Correct answer: Acute Stress Disorder with dissociative features
Acute Stress Disorder can include dissociative symptoms such as amnesia and mutism occurring within hours of a traumatic event.
Question 7: A school social worker receives information from a student's therapist outside of school indicating the student has a specific plan to harm a classmate. HIPAA and FERPA considerations aside, the social worker's FIRST obligation is to:
- Contact the student's parents and inform them of the plan
- Assess the threat's credibility and take steps to protect the potential victim, including notifying administrators (Correct answer)
- Maintain confidentiality because the information came from an outside provider
- Wait for the outside therapist to take action since they received the disclosure first
Correct answer: Assess the threat's credibility and take steps to protect the potential victim, including notifying administrators
Duty to protect the identified potential victim supersedes confidentiality when there is credible risk of harm; the social worker must act immediately to assess and protect.
SSW Crisis Intervention & Mental Health 4
During a school lockdown, a student with autism spectrum disorder becomes severely dysregulated due to sensory overload and begins self-injurious behavior.
The social worker's BEST immediate approach is to: