Date
12-16-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)
Chair
Teresa Phillips-Harris
Keywords
suicide, children, school counselors, counselor identity, counselor role, support
Disciplines
Counseling
Recommended Citation
Kegley, Katlyn Greene, "The Emotional Residue of Elementary: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Elementary School Counselors with Students Exhibiting High-Risk Suicidal Thoughts or Behaviors" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7818.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7818
Abstract
This phenomenological study explored the prevalence of high-risk suicidal thoughts and behaviors in elementary school children in Virginia, and how these incidents impacted their elementary school counselor. It examined the professional and personal impact that high-risk suicide events with elementary school students have on their elementary school counselor. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. After data analysis, four themes emerged: the counselor’s role and identity (advocacy, compartmentalization, risk assessment and safety planning, and focus on relationships); confidentiality (protecting student’s information and pressure to maintain); transformative experiences (clinical versus school counseling backgrounds, vigilance, mental health impact, and changes to school counseling practice); and postvention healing process (follow-up with students and guardians, support for school counselor, and self-care strategies). This study provides insight for counselor educators, academic programs, and school counselors in the field, and discusses future research recommendations.
