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2009 Summer Conference

2009 NASP Summer Conference - Washington, DC

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Tuesday afternoon, repeated Wednesday morning—3 hours each)
Tuesday, July 14, 1:30–4:45 p.m. and Wednesday, July 15, 8:30–11:45 a.m.

Ethical Principles for School Psychologists: A Problem-Solving Approach

Barbara Bole Williams, PhD, NCSP, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ; Leigh D. Armistead, EdD, NCSP, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC

A problem-solving approach can be applied to ethical and legal issues in work settings, with the goal of avoiding ethical violations and protecting the rights and welfare of children and advocating for their best interests. Participants will learn:

  • skills and strategies to use a problem-solving model to effectively interpret ethical principles in school psychology
  • examples of behaviors that would comply with standards of appropriate professional conduct, using case studies

Instruction strategies will include lecture, guided discussion, and practice in applying the problem-solving model. Participants will earn 3 CPD credits toward fulfilling the ethics and professional practice requirements for NCSP renewal.

Responding to Self-Injurious Students: Prevention and Intervention Strategies for School Psychologists

Richard A. Lieberman, NCSP, Los Angeles Unified School District, CA

Self-injury (SI) is a complex variety of behaviors separate and distinct from suicide that fulfills a multitude of needs in children and adolescents. There is alarming evidence that an increasing number of adolescents are exhibiting a spectrum of impulsive self-injurious behaviors, cutting and burning in particular. The referrals of these students present significant challenges to school mental health personnel. Participants will learn:

  • the interaction between cognitive, affective, behavioral, environmental, biological, and psychological dimensions in the etiology of SI youth
  • how to create effective treatment plans
  • school prevention and intervention strategies, such as training of staff, working within crisis teams, utilizing no harm agreements and responding to contagion on campus.

Helping Children and Adolescents Manage Anger Constructively: Practical Strategies for School Psychologists

Fredric Provenzano, PhD, NCSP, University of Washington, Seattle

Although it is both an inevitable and a normal life experience, anger can lead to difficult negative outcomes for the angry person, as well as for others. Participants will learn specific procedures for managing anger that include:

  • identifying and monitoring anger levels
  • reducing the explosive tension of the anger
  • employing a problem solving plan for replacing the dysfunctional and potentially harmful reactions with safe and effective action plans
  • verbal and nonverbal techniques
  • a group format appropriate for intermediate and middle school students that is easily adaptable for students from second grade through high school and for use with families, as well.

Legal Combat Rules for the Practice of School Psychology: 2009 Update

John Comegno II, Esq., Comegno Law Group, Moorestown, NJ

Given the myriad of laws and regulations that affect school psychologists, the legal implications can be staggering and, at times, overwhelming. Participants will learn:

  • concrete and practical suggestions (stemming from this nationally renowned legal expert’s “war stories”)
  • recent special education litigation and how to limit both personal and institutional risk by avoiding legal exposure while still focusing on the best interests of students
  • current trends in special education law
  • recent relevant court decisions
  • latest changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act and he impact those changes have on the eligibility for Section 504 Plans within public schools