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S C H O O L   P S Y C H O L O G Y   A S S O C I A T I O N   
NGO in special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

 

Crisis Intervention Training for European School Psychologists

 

Although schools are considered as places for learning, they have  experienced in the last decade more traumatic incidents then ever before. It can seriously affect everyone: students, staff, parents and the local community. School psychologists can come under substantial pressure and may themselves need support. Although it is a stressful time for all, an appropriate training, support and adequate source, can help ensure that the school psychologists will be able to provide supportive services for those affected in their school community.

In 2003 Bernhard Meissner organized the first basic training “Crisis Management in Schools” for European school psychologists with the following trainers: Prof. Bill Pfohl, USA, Dr. Shulamit Niv and Dr. Yehuda Shacham, Israel, Arthur Englbrecht and Bernhard Meissner, Germany. Since then about 240 school psychologists from EU countries were trained in basic and advanced courses. Further information

 

The training courses on “Crisis Management in Schools”

In the basic courses participants are given up to date information about:

  • trauma, trauma reactions and how to deal with them
  • resources to establish resilience
  • stress coping according to the systematic approach of Mooli Lahad (BASIC-Ph),
  • offering psychological first aid to individuals and groups
  • management of crisis in schools as systems
  • dealing with the media
  • forming and maintaining crisis intervention teams
  • caring for the caregiver
  • establishing regional, national, and international networks. Further information

 

For the advanced courses participants will need to have completed the basic course. Exchange on their experiences in crisis intervention and prevention is one of the main topics. Other topics are:

  • suicide prevention and intervention
  • dealing with bullying and threats
  • forming effective crisis intervention and school safety teams
  • issues concerning further developments of  psychological first aid models
  • research
  • developing networks
  • further development of crisis management in Europe. Further information

 

There are plans for a train-the-trainer course because in some countries it is easier to form larger groups when training is held in the native tongue. Other courses will focus on topics related more to prevention of violence and safe schools through implementing programs around problem solving, conflict resolution etc. It is hypothesised that more supportive school systems will lessen the danger of someone executing violence within the school.

The philosophy of all of these courses centres around the importance of giving information and involving participants personally in how they deal with death, knowing their coping strategies and knowing how they can work in teams.

 

COMENIUS sponsoring

One reason for the great success of the crisis management courses was the opportunity to use the Socrates/Comenius project of the EU to sponsor participants for 5-day courses. Only school psychologists who are members of a school staff or work for schools in school institutions or education departments are eligible for funding. Potential participants have to apply to their national COMENIUS agency for a grant up to a €1500 for a course, including hotel costs, seminar fee and travel expenses.
School psychologists have to apply first to the organizer at the European Training Centre - Bernhard Meissner  bernhard_meissner@web.de. when they will get the description of the course and the program along with a preliminary acceptance and a statement of costs. These documents have to be sent together with the application form of the national COMENIUS agency. Further information

The organizer has to obey to the following regulations for the courses

  • It must be a full five-day course;
  • a maximum of 10 persons from any one country is permitted;
  • at least 3 countries must be included;,
  • only persons from EU-countries can be awarded grants,
  • participants from the country where the course takes place cannot obtain grants.

It is necessary to make plans as soon as possible so that there will be enough money left at your national agency for you to obtain funding to attend the course. The sooner you can apply after receiving a preliminary receipt for registering, the easier it will be to get permission in your country. It would be good if you could apply in the name of an institution, a school, a school psychological service, a university, or a national school psychology association.
Possibility one: If you work as a school psychologist in a country of the EU or in one that will soon become a member, you can still try to get funded for the training.
Possibility two: If you can afford to pay for the hotel and travel on your own, you could participate by paying a very low course fee of € 160.
NOTE: Colleagues from the countries where the seminar takes place cannot be funded by the EU.
For further information see the descriptions and programs of future courses.

1.Crisis Management in Schools  / Basic course

Bressanone/Brixen    17- 23 May 2009      Further information

2.  Crisis Management in Schools   / Basic course
          Malta,    11- 17 July 2009                         Further information

Further information on Application procedure.

List of National Agencies and contact information availabe HERE.

Agencies in Germany and contact information availabe HERE.