Citation

Fruetel KM, Duckworth RC, Scott SL, Fenderson EN. J. Rural Ment. Health 2022; 46(1): 40-49.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, National Association for Rural Mental Health, Publisher American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/rmh0000148

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Responding to clients/students who are threatening harm to self or others is often perceived as a demanding and challenging job for any clinician, especially for those working with limited resources in rural communities. This research explored the experiences of clinical mental health and school counselors who respond to those types of crises within four different states in communities of 9,000 or fewer residents. Using face-to-face and synchronous online interviews, five themes were identified through phenomenological analysis, including collaboration, training, staffing, distance, and time. Though each clinician identified ample opportunities for crisis response improvement within their communities, there was a sense of pride working in small communities where the residents are familiar with one another and offer individualized support not often found in larger cities. Overall, what emerged from this study is the importance of highlighting clinicians' needs in smaller communities as their stories and experiences are often lost to the trauma and crises happening in metropolises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en