The Impact of an Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPT) Workshop on Rural K–12 School Counselors’ Assessment Knowledge and Self-Efficacy

Suicide rates across the United States continue to increase steadily. Rural communities tend to face barriers to suicide assessment and treatment that urban communities do not. School counselors working in rural education often serve as the primary screening tool for youths who might be at risk for suicide. Numerous models and theories have served as guidelines for explaining and assessing suicidal ideation. In 2009, Thomas Joiner introduced the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (IPT), an approach drawing on three main factors: perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and acquired capability. Given the well-supported place of IPT in the literature, the present study utilized a nonconcurrent, multiple-baseline, multiple-probe design to examine the impact of a training model designed on this approach. Participants were K–12 school counselors employed in rural school districts across the United States. The results from this study demonstrated a significant increase in suicide-assessment knowledge, even when training was conducted remotely, but the results did not reveal a measurable change in self-efficacy. This is significant because it suggests increasing clinician knowledge around suicide assessment can be done through a cost-effective, remote platform, making it accessible to most people working in the mental health field. Future research should focus on the self-efficacy of school counselors, especially regarding factors that could influence the confidence of these individuals in making risk assessments.