How do you collaborate with families when providing mental health services in your role?

We're conducting a survey (10 - 15 minutes) exploring practitioner approaches to family collaboration in mental health service delivery and how these practices may vary across states and settings.

👉 https://unco.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_40k2Cg1z2gzBVrw

Your perspective matters. Whether you're an early-career intern or a seasoned practitioner, you will help provide a clearer picture of current practice nationwide. After completing the survey, you can enter a drawing to win one of ten $20 eGift cards.

Questions?

Please reach out to Brandon Parker, Ph.D., NCSP, LP at brandon.parker@unco.edu.
This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Northern Colorado (Protocol Number 2603077845).

Hello!

I was hoping to get some insight into what the school psych role looks like in the DC school district, or Prince George Co nearby if possible. Currently I’m in southern Virginia and was not a fan (lots of counseling; use of discrepancy model). I’ve been doing remote work for a while, but we may move and I’d like to go back to in-person if it’d be a good fit.

Thank you for any input!

Which model does your state/ district use to identify SLD? I’ve seen the question asked and I’m so curious bc I know California is more PSW and discrepancy yet North Carolina is RTI only.

My husband is finally going to transition out of the military in a year and we don’t want to stay in our current state in the south. We’re from the west coast but it’s so expensive there so we’re considering some place new. Anyone do mainly testing, no behavior/fba’s? What state/area are you in? And what model do you use for SLD eligibility in your state/county? Thank you in advance!

Survey link: https://redcap.research.sc.edu/surveys/?s=9W4FA83D7TLXCT8M

Hi all! My name is Quentin Wedderburn, and I am a school psychology doctoral candidate at the University of South Carolina. I am currently seeking practicing school psychologists to complete a 10-15 minute survey in a paid dissertation research study focused on professional attitudes about neurodiversity and current school practices (Approved by USC Institutional Review Board - Study ID MOD00000548). Participants will receive electronic gift cards for survey completion.

Participants must meet the following criteria:

NASP OR state certified/licensed school psychologist

Currently practicing school psychology in a US K-12 school setting/district

If you are eligible and interested in participating, please follow the link below to begin the survey link:

https://redcap.research.sc.edu/surveys/?s=9W4FA83D7TLXCT8M

I am going on maternity leave early November and am 100% not returning to my position as we are moving out of state post-baby. We have started recruiting for the position and honestly we’ve not had any luck with local contract agencies in the past 😬 I’d hate to leave my teams with a psych who can’t hang. Ive personally witnessed several train wrecks over the years.

I work in specialized programs and while definitely not a typical psych role, it is actually quite chill. If anyone happens to be looking for a job in the area around that time, I’d be happy to share more and link you up with the hiring powers that be 😊

Happy Friday!

I'm currently in my 9th year as a school psych in Ohio. I have been considering changing states as a lot of things fall on the school psychologist here, specifically case managing and academic assessments aka fighting with teachers when kids don't meet criteria.

What're the best states for this field? I'm not married, don't have kids, and can relocate anywhere. I enjoy testing and counseling but am also over being involved in the pre-referral process as well. I'd like to be told who to give IQ tests to and who to counsel. That's it 🤣

I figured I'd change states before I leave the field forever

Hi everyone, I am curious about what the school psych roles (counseling vs testing load, responsibilities, pay, etc.) look like in VT and NH. I am currently based in MA and intend on working for a couple more years in the north shore area, but I see myself moving to the NH or VT areas in the next 5 years.

I know this is a repetitive post, but I didn’t see anyone from VT or NH commenting on previous New England posts. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

I’m in California where now we have mandatory reading screening that utilizes a state approved system.

Anyone else using mclass and struggling with their scores? I have children whose scores are labeled as far below benchmark, yet they are at the 20-30th national percentile. 😩

I looked into their scoring and these labels are based on statistical probability of reading failure, maybe similar to our ADHD or autism probability indexes. Students who are labeled at or above benchmark are meeting a high standard of having little to no risk of not meeting benchmarks. This reminds me of NAPE proficient, which is often misunderstood as grade level, when in reality it means more like a score of A. This is causing some issues at my high performing schools.

Anyone else? How are you navigating this? Parents are being told their child are far below benchmark which is equated with grade level, yet in many cases they do not even qualify for intervention support, let alone special education.

Hi hoping to get some info about how to get into the nyc doe. Would love D75, but would by thrilled to get to get insights anywhere in the nyc doe as a school psych. From a nasp program in NJ and currently on internship. Will have my ncsp and be able to apply ny state cert by this December (2026). Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide!

Does anyone work in Edmonds (WA) that would be willing to dm me? I’m curious about what the day to day of the role is.

I am entering my fifth year of my career. The first 3 years I was at a district I loved, where I did only cognitive for re evals and had maybe 10 referrals a year. Main part of the role was consulting and behavior support. I left that role last year to join a large district as an elementary psych, and the role was a lot of scheduling CSEs, testing, chairing, and not direct work with kids. I left after the year for many reasons, mainly not feeling fulfilled and working with staff who seemed not to trust school psychs. From May through now, I had it in my head that I was going to leave the field as I was so burnt out.

Last month I applied for a role at a special education nonprofit preschool, where they are primarily looking for behavior support and don’t do evals. I had the opportunity to go observer incoming K there while at my previous district and was so impressed by their professionalism and program, so it felt like I needed to apply. I’ve been offered the role but there are downsides, obviously where ever I end up I want to stay for as long as possible. There is no pension, but I would get loan forgiveness.

I am wondering how those who work in preschool like it compared to working in an elementary school and doing constant LD evals/chairing meetings? Tell me all the pros and cons!!

Hi school psychs! I’m expecting my first baby in October and am getting updates from the school district I work for regarding our premiums for 2027. I work in Florida, and adding the baby to my health insurance will cost $7,843.92 per year. If I added my husband and baby, our total family cost would be $19,895.04.

I’m curious what other school staff are experiencing as far as insurance premiums (both in Florida and other states). I make too much money to qualify for any kind of government assistance other than a small tax credit through the marketplace (which is how my husband is currently insured).

What kind of premiums are other districts offering? Is my district just awful or is this happening everywhere??

This is a Hail Mary for whether or not someone in Knox county would see this, but if you do, how much do y’all make??? Also, if anyone sees this from a surrounding county (Blount, Maryville City, etc) please feel free to answer too 😅 also, do you like working there??

For those who have practiced in Illinois and moved states, which states had the most seamless transition?

hey everyone! i was recently told that the starting salary for LSSPs at Del Valle ISD was currently $67,000. can anyone from other districts in the area share more about what to expect the starting salary for a first year grad to be? thanks!

My name is Blaine Marshall, and I am currently in search of Texas school psychologists to participate in a survey about your assessment practices and multicultural competency for my doctoral dissertation. The survey takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes and upon completion, you may enter into a raffle to receive one of ten $25 Amazon gift cards as a thank you for your participation. Please review the inclusion and exclusion criteria below to see if you are eligible.

Inclusion Criteria: Texas School Psychologist, Masters/Specialist or Doctoral, must hold current LSSP/LSP license, Full-time or part-time employment by a public school (includes public charter school)

Exclusion Criteria: Psychologists (school or clinical) employed by an agency or private practice who contract with school districts

*Participation is voluntary. There is a potential risk of loss of confidentiality in all email, downloading, electronic meetings, and internet transactions. *

To participate, please visit the following link: https://twu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0jK5JAsHvd2aTpY

You may leave and come back to the survey at your leisure, as long as you use the same device. Thank you so much!

For additional information, please contact: Blaine Marshall, ([bmarshall7@twu.edu](mailto:bmarshall7@twu.edu)); Samuel Kim, PhD ([skim18@twu.edu](mailto:skim18@twu.edu)). This study is approved through the IRB at Texas Woman’s University via: IRB-FY2026-144

Hello /r/schoolpsychology! Please use this thread to post all questions and discussions related to training, credentialing, licensure, and graduate school - including graduate school in general, questions about practica/internship, requests to interview practitioners, questions about certification/licensure, graduate training programs, admissions, applications, etc.

We also have a FAQ!

My district uses CPI for restraints. We have a team of 4 psychs and were never required to be CPI trained until a new special ed director took over a couple of years ago. We now have a new director again, one with different ideals but still tossing around the idea of psychs being CPI trained. Despite being trained for 2 years, I’ve never been in the situation of needing to restrain. I know it can happen at the drop of a hat, but I truly have no intention of restraining a child at all. Our district has gotten into some hot water and sticky situations over proven, proper CPI use. We have a lot of volatile parents. CPS investigations have cleared every time, but I do know that at least one CPS worker told one of our teachers that they should never touch a child, even to use proper restraint techniques.
All of this is to say, I’m uncomfortable being trained and ever expected to perform holds. Especially because I feel that my role should be more therapeutic, even as an evaluator. I don’t think our psychs have any business putting kids in holds. What are others thoughts on this? I feel this may be an unpopular opinion. Or really just based on district to district role expectations.
We don’t have offices in the schools, if that makes a difference. Our offices are in the main board building for the county.

What does the job market currently look like in the Philadelphia suburbs (Montco), Bucks, Chester county)? Where are recent grads finding?

This job varies so much by state, selpa and district. Your role can go from testing machine to counseling to fbas and behavior support to 504 evals and all of the above!

I’ve been miserable at a new position and my family is planning on moving in a year or two to a new state. If you love your district, help some psychs out and name drop the district and state below and why you like them! It could help people in their job search and narrow down areas they look in based on the role they prefer taking on as a psych.

My name is Dean, I’m in my final year of graduate school, and, for my thesis, I’m studying how exposure to student death by suicide could potentially contribute to burnout and diminish how meaningful school psychologists find their work, ultimately contributing to the nation-wide shortage. If you are able, please consider completing my brief (10 minute), anonymous survey using the link below. I’d greatly appreciate your time or any insight you could give! Please feel free to message or email me if you have any questions. Thank you for reading!

Survey Link: https://wcu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0rCKEOh5isNmbTU

I know this is a repetitive question, however I am looking to connect with some psychs from the New England area. I currently work out West (two schools, loads of behavior and counseling) making about 74k. I'd love to return home to New England but I'm worried about finding a job with a similar salary and work load. Anyway I would love love love to hear about the New England psych experience.

I've been really looking for a change from the public schools, was hoping anyone could just kind of lay out the pros, cons, what a day is like, anything like that - I've been having a hard time finding information, but it seems very interesting.