School Reintegration Post-Psychiatric Hospitalization: Protocols and Procedures Across the Nation

School Supports for Reintegration Following a Suicide-Related Crisis: A Mixed Methods Study Informing Hospital Recommendations for Schools During Discharge

“…-School Professional Because schools are a primary discharge environment for adolescents hospitalized for a suicide-related crisis, an increasing number of studies have begun to explore best practice for supporting adolescents during school reintegration [1]. These foundational studies have surveyed school psychologists about existing practice [2], identified provider perceptions of facilitators and barriers to re-entry [3,4], and begun to centralize adolescent [5][6][7] and family [8] experiences during their return. Although findings from these studies have helped to inform school-related procedures for reintegration, they have rarely addressed hospital procedures for integrating school re-entry planning into their treatment and discharge process.…”

“…A recent survey suggests that more than half of schools (62%) may have a formal or informal reintegration procedure focused on supporting youth returning to school following a psychiatric hospitalization, with comparable rates of reintegration procedures across varying types of communities (e.g., rural and urban communities, high and low free and reduced lunch rates, and diverse ethnic and racial student body characteristics [2]). Protocols typically involve meetings with families, communication with hospital providers, and the development of a re-entry plan [2]. School re-entry plans are recommended to manage school-related stressors, identify supports and interventions, address the psychosocial climate of the school environment, establish a safety plan, and identify key individuals supporting the student [2,3,5,6,9,10].…”

“…Protocols typically involve meetings with families, communication with hospital providers, and the development of a re-entry plan [2]. School re-entry plans are recommended to manage school-related stressors, identify supports and interventions, address the psychosocial climate of the school environment, establish a safety plan, and identify key individuals supporting the student [2,3,5,6,9,10]. Although school counselors have been identified as the most common professional involved in the process, a wide range of school professionals (e.g., administrators, other school support staff) may support returning youth [2,9].…”

“…Common services available to support students upon their return may include individual counseling, on-site tutoring, and support with time management [2]. Commonly available accommodations may include a universal pass to see a counselor, flexibility in time of arrival and departure from school, and extended academic completion deadlines [2].…”

“…Common services available to support students upon their return may include individual counseling, on-site tutoring, and support with time management [2]. Commonly available accommodations may include a universal pass to see a counselor, flexibility in time of arrival and departure from school, and extended academic completion deadlines [2]. Although the extent to which the availability of these supports and services may vary across communities remains unclear, research identifying variability in school characteristics more broadly (e.g., rurality, poverty, student demographic characteristics) has painted a relatively clear picture of differences across communities.…”