trauma responsive & healing centered - Initiating
Professional Development > Learning Paths > School Mental Health Readiness
Creating a trauma-responsive and healing-centered school culture begins with cultivating self-awareness, individually and collectively. Research shows that when educators understand the impact of trauma on the brain and learning (Perry & Szalavitz, 2017), engage in reflective practice to build emotional resilience (Jennings, 2015), and shift from trauma-informed approaches to healing-centered engagement (Ginwright, 2018), they are better equipped to foster environments of safety, connection, and growth.
The resources below are recommended for schools or districts starting in this work. Your school or district may be exploring this work and wondering where to begin. These resources focus on building an understanding of the shared goals as well as difference between the concepts of trauma responsive and healing centered. The resources here focus on the importance of self-awareness in this work, and how to develop self-awareness.Â
The TRS-IA is an evidence-informed self-assessment that comprises eight key domains of trauma-responsive schools and districts. It encompasses 8 domains: 1) whole school prevention planning; 2) whole school safety planning; 3) whole school trauma programming; 4) target trauma-informed programming; 5) prevention/early intervention trauma programming; 6) classroom strategies; 7) staff self-care; 8) family and community engagement.Â
will add info on where/how to complete assessment
- 30 minutes
This course covers information needed to fulfill the mandate created by Illinois Public Act 103-0413, which was signed into law in August 2023. The law creates common definitions around trauma-responsive environments. Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, teacher institutes need to provide instruction on trauma-informed practices and include the definitions of trauma, trauma-responsive learning environments, and whole child.
- 15 minutes
- We Need Trauma Informed Workplaces (reading)
- 8 minutes
Over the past several years we’ve seen the lines between work and home blur and a fundamental shift in our expectations of the places we work, organizations have struggled to provide the support and leadership that the people who work in these school communities need. That’s why it’s so important that they take steps now to build the cultures that can see them through this crisis and the ones we’ll all inevitably face in the future.Â
- Six Guiding Principles to a Trauma Informed Approach (Infographic)
- 2 minutes
The CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR), in collaboration with SAMHSA’s National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC), developed and led a new training for CPR employees about the role of trauma-informed care during public health emergencies. The training aimed to increase responder awareness of the impact that trauma can have in the communities where they work.
Participants learned SAMHSA’S six principles that guide a trauma-informed approach, include:
- Safety
- Trustworthiness and transparency
- Peer support
- Collaboration and mutuality
- Empowerment: voice and choice
- Cultural, historical and gender issues
6 Guiding Principles to a Trauma Informed Approach Infographic
I have a PDF of this too (CDC backup site so may want to do PDF
- Exploring Equity Issues Trauma Informed Approach (reading)
- 15 minutes
Trauma is pervasive in schools and can threaten students, affecting their academic performance and opportunities for lifelong success. Educators must be careful they don’t add to a student’s trauma. This guide from the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium provides an introduction to trauma in students, trauma-informed classrooms, and offers inclusive learning strategies for educators that promote equitable learning environments. Educators can use the everyday practices in this report to create safe and predictable learning environments.
- Creating a Sense of Belonging: Young People Identify Ways to Build Welcoming Environments (reading)
All young peoÂple should feel like they belong — that they are welÂcome and recÂogÂnized as human beings with strengths, potenÂtial and aspiÂraÂtions. Yet, this isn’t a givÂen for young peoÂple of colÂor, whose culÂture, hisÂtoÂry and accomÂplishÂments are often absent or unrecÂogÂnized by the peoÂple and places shapÂing their everyÂday lives. This post explores what it would look like to advance racial equiÂty in ways that would creÂate places to live, work and play where every young perÂson feels both welÂcome and included.Â
Creating a Sense of Belonging – The Annie E. Casey Foundation
- 5 minutes
- Tackling Unhealed Trauma (reading)
This is an introduction to a guide to healing-centered engagement, an innovative mental health model, based on Dr. Shawn Ginwright’s work. The scope and complexity of the problem of the prevalence of trauma means there will never be enough therapists to cope with it. Instead, Ginwright has a different vision: democratizing access to mental health care so that conversations focused on emotional well-being can occur wherever young people gather with other peers or adults, whether that be in a barbershop, a beauty salon, a basketball court, or on a bus. This short reading provides five key insights on how implementing this practice helps young people. On this webpage you can also find a link to access a free healing centered toolkit.Â
Tackling Unhealed Trauma | Harvard Graduate School of Education
- 5 minutes
- How to Build Students’ Resilience (reading)
As educators, we talk a lot about resilience—how students need it to bounce back from challenges, grit their teeth, and persevere. But what if resilience isn’t just about bouncing back? What if it’s about bouncing forward, adapting, thriving, and growing stronger with each setback? Teachers can use these strategies in this article to strengthen their students’ ability to cope with setbacks and frustration.Â
Build Students’ Resilience With 6 Classroom Strategies | Edutopia
- 5 minutes
- Equity Matters: Confronting Implicit Bias (webinar)
This webinar from Learning for Justice delves into implicit biases, the subconscious biases we all have that influence how we respond to others. To create equitable classrooms, educators must acknowledge their own biases and take steps to confront them. Increase your understanding of what implicit bias is and how it affects school climate. Learn ways to confront implicit bias within yourself and help students to do likewise.
Equity Matters: Confronting Implicit Bias | Learning for Justice
- 45 minutes
- Trauma-Informed Resilience Oriented Schools (toolkit)
The Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Oriented Schools Toolkit from the National Center for School Safety outlines a framework for implementing these approaches in any school or school district. It utilizes tools, videos, professional development slide decks, and concise instruction to explain the concepts of trauma and toxic stress, offers individual
and school-wide strategies for addressing trauma and fostering resilience for students, staff, and families, and to assess the impact of these adaptations throughout the school community. The sections’ topics are presented in the order your school or district will likely start to address them.
- 45 minutes