How trauma is dealt with in schools

[Digz]

This is a bit of an unusual post, but I am interested in peoples' opinion on this topic.

I am a school teacher and a survivor of childhood trauma. In schools there is a push for teachers to understand trauma, which I see as a really good thing.
However, as a survivor I often question the way they are going about this. The education of teachers is primarily undertaken by other lead teachers who have been to meetings to learn a bit about trauma and have done some limited reading. I have never seen a trained psychologist educating teachers on what trauma is and its effects. This has always concerned me, knowing how complex it is. Different teachers seem to have different ideas on how trauma is defined, for example. Some believe divorce is a form of trauma, some don't. Some believe trauma is anything that is viewed as traumatic from the child's perspective. While awareness is good for teachers to have, I sometimes wonder how good it is if there is not real understanding?

Within the teaching profession there are now key terms that are used in this area, specifically 'Trauma-Informed Practice' or 'Looking through a trauma-lense'. These terms are meant to mean that when we plan to teach we should plan in a way that ensures it is okay for any child who has suffered trauma. The latter term is about looking through the eyes of a child of trauma to see what would effect them. While these terms are very well intended and coming from a place of wanting to help children when they are at school, I sometimes question their validity. Sure, there are some things you could do that are likely to help most children of trauma, such as not yelling - although, I would think that would be best for all children in general. But, surely there is no one-size-fits-all practice that you can apply to make everything okay? It's not like it's possible to know all their triggers. The approach would surely vary depending on whether the child is more likely to fight, flight or freeze. Although as it stands within education the children identified as having suffered trauma are mainly those that exhibit 'fight' symptoms, partly because they are most difficult to manage, and partly because with an awareness of trauma but not a deep understanding of what it is and how it presents, these children tend to exhibit the signs staff know to be trauma-related.

I guess, if I was to be honest, I find some of the terms and approaches offensive as a survivor. There is no way the term 'Autism-Informed Practice' would be used in schools, as it is recognised to be a very complex disorder with varying difficulties and experienced in different ways. I think, those with autism would find it offensive. Surely though, trauma is the same? I guess one big difference I see is that the autistic community would likely be consulted in these matters.

If I'd been consulted as a survivor, I would say that these terms project the idea that all those with trauma are the same, have the same issues. I would say that it is not possible to 'look through a trauma lense' - whose trauma lense? I would say that having lead teachers with a small bit of understanding educate hundreds of teachers is misguided and doesn't say to me that you really want teachers to understand this deeply And I would tell them that to me this concept of some kind of structure applied to all children of trauma, with terms such as these is offensive.....

But am I being overly sensitive? Am I the only one who would think this or feel this way about it?

 

[joeylittle]

Am I the only one who would think this or feel this way about it?

No, I get where you're coming from. I wish there was less emphasis placed on interacting with the student's trauma (through whatever kind of 'trauma lens' one is using), and more emphasis placed on getting the student access to a well-trained counselor. Teaching the basic concepts of mental health to everyone, but in basic enough terms so that no-one is trying to do therapy in the classroom.

A more broad-based approach to destigmatizing all of the conversations around mental health.

 

[alwaysworkingthruit]

I agree completely. As an educator myself who is not supported by the system by which I am employed, I understand this all too well.

I know schools. at least the one in which I work, are desperately understaffed in this area. That complicates things further

 

[Friday]

The only consistently “trauma informed” teacher I’ve met in dozens of schools is the football coach.

Teaching the basic concepts of mental health to everyone, but in basic enough terms so that no-one is trying to do therapy in the classroom.

This.

It’s natural and normal for adults in a child’s life to want to help. The increasing demands/expectations being placed on (or assumed by) teachers? To not only teach but be parent/ confidant/ counselor/ therapist/ doctor/etc.? Is insane. And has some pretty predictible fallout. For both teachers and for kids/families.

I had to have a come to Jesus meeting with the teacher running “the divorce group”... because, whilst certainly well intentioned? Hearing that “I need to love my child more than I hate my ex” followed by instructions to meet with the bastard for coffee? :mad: I kept my cool. I DID ask if he understood that this was a domestic violence divorce? Oh yes. Really??? So you often recommend that people meet up with their rapist for coffee? Dude’s jaw about fell off of his face, and he was quite green by the time I ticked a few other points of interest off. But it was the rape thing that kicked him in his gut. People get so squeamish around rape. And I really spelled out for him exactly how his blaming the victim & accusations of NOT LOVING MY SON was raking my son over the coals. Not only was he dealing with an abusive father, and dealing with being abused, but then he comes to school to hear his mother doesn’t love him AND that it’s HIS FAULT his parents aren’t getting along??? I really tore this guy a new asshole. >>> The end result of this I didn’t learn until this past year : The divorce group shut down for 3 months, whilst the poor guy took a quarter of continuing Ed at the University in child psych (previously, it was just the weekend seminar the state puts on for making divorce easier on kids) and at the end of THAT? He said he didn’t feel qualified to run the group and the school psychologist took it over (and wanted to know why the f*ck she hadn’t been asked to run it in the first place!).

PS... The answer to why the school psychologist wasn’t running the divorce group, in the first place? It was considered a “club”. Which only needs a teacher there to supervise. Meanwhile well-intentioned-idiot is having these kids sit in a circle doing group therapy with them week in and week out... with ZERO qualification to do so. HELLO! :banghead: I am grateful to learn that at least for the sake of kids to come that 1 quarter of continuing Ed was enough for him to realize what a stupid f*cking idea that was... but damn. 1,700 kid high school. And my kid was soooo not the only one dealing with a domestic violence divorce. The BULLSHIT this guy put these kids through? Is insane.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Oh this thread is a hot one for me.....long winded but here goes!

I'm a retired teacher because of
-Ignorant principals and assistant principals who do not understand compartmentalization, and the childhood effects of trauma, on learning and memory/recall, don't understand the impact of teacher behaviors on children, and children of trauma are not always believed. I found I could not stay teaching, feeling helpless, in a school who may have been trauma informed (like-there's trauma in your school, watch out for it) and not being given the next part of the training (effects of trauma in school and what to do).

-Was written up for discussing two students, as having separate personality fragments (one had a horse who winnied, a sexy girl, a little child who giggled at everything, and then there was the aloof teen) and the other was very immature, came to school with a foot tall stuffie, would have a low growling voice with angry eyes and talk like a man, and then there was the teen happy go lucky girl trying to fit in). I used the word compartmentalization and different personalities/part that we were seeing in class and was accused of diagnosing MPD-a term from a long time ago (both children came from the foster system all their life and both had had multiple sexual abuse, physical, and emotional and had been in over 15 foster homes-this was middle school).

-My assistant principal had flashbacks to his childhood days, spent 45 minutes recounting his critical mama, who made him who is is today (a self-centered narcissistic bully (IMHO)-but it was clearly a trigger to his own youth.

-Then it dawned on me, until teachers and administrators have their own therapy to evaluate themselves and whether they behavior healthily or in an unhealthy way, trauma informed and all the trauma training is not going
to be internalized and recognized.

_Educational staff have to accept their own childhood traumas and deal effectively with their own triggers (instead of using alcohol, getting high, self-medicating w drugs-but not recognizing their own issues, or just suffer with high anxiety and depression) which spills over into the class on a daily basis-and this does affect kids whose life is already turned upside down with their own trauma ( teacher-yelling, sarcasm, belittling behaviors, threats-if you don't stop XYZ I'm going to XYZ you!.....) as well as the others children who aren't yet traumatized.

-Staff who have dealt with their own traumas, who have obviously had some counseling, are much more easily able to identify and work with the kids when other kids can't. Teacher's who use please/thank you , and will you please....know the importance of speaking respectfully to all children, especially the ones who present with the most behavioral challenges or who don't interact at all (wall flowers).
-Lastly-here goes_, our trauma kids have some of the most inconsistent assessment scores, end of year test scores, and some of the worst, too. Others this is not always true, but the more severe the trauma, I see the more disabled linguistically and with impaired memory function due to compartmentalization. I found that if I can connect daily, and give positive when I see positive, and connect consistently with them over the course of the year, tremendous progress can be made but it is time consuming. The single factor for success (IMHO) for children like this is the teacher/student relationship (which corresponds with therapist/client trust as a predictor of success in therapy). Time and time again, kids pass the test after having developed a good relationship with their teacher because the part of them that showed up to take the test on that particular day, wanted to please the teacher who showed they really cared.....and for some, feel what success feels like. They realize they can be more than their parents believe, and begin to dream about what they want to be when they grow up. (I emphasized positive future goals as a regular part of my curriculum). With a close, supportive relationship with their teacher that someone says they matter, they begin to dream of things being different. And taking the end of the year or state testing can be a proving ground, and with a supportive teacher....someone will be paying attention if they do pass the test. Progress with these kids is all about the positive relationship with one other trustworthy person-usually that's a favorite teacher. I believe my ability to meld with the parts of the kid that act out or who want approval, and to positively interact with the whole child to make them feel a sense of personal self-worth and academic success is the key to better trauma informed education. With that said, there are many hurdles to overcome.

_Administrators who don't believe in compartmentalization and memory loss in trauma should not be hired. My last year, I was dealing with a 13 year old girl who was very bright, but no one liked her. She purposefully did things that made the kids thinks she was weird, to create distance. She had been severely bullied all through school. She was also the victim of cult abuse-and this was apparent in her belief system, her dress, her drawings, highly stories, and her anger level and comments about her parents. I walked past the cafeteria, and the principal was running toward the cafeteria, as the noise level got very loud with kids screaming. This child was curled up on the floor in the fetal position, crying.....with one lead bully, and a whole group of kids as noisy, taunting, bystanders. My principal tried to get her to move (but she wouldn't) and I intervened and was successful. We did deep breathing because in that moment I was dealing with a scared kid who said it was her fault, she was sorry, repeating it over and over-not a middle school kids mindset. She was sent home a day and the weekend came. When she came back to school, she smiled at me as if nothing had happened, and asked me "Why do I have in-school detention for 2 weeks?" I asked if she recalled what happened last week in the cafeteria-and she said, "What are you talking about?" Do you remember going to the principal's office with me from the cafeteria? "No" was her reply. I said I'd check on that 2 week in-school suspension. When I asked why she was in ISS for 2 weeks after the previous year, I was told by the administrator to "separate her from the others and make sure there were no other problems." Then I said to the administrator, "She has no recollection of what happened to her and why she's in ISS" and the administrator said, "She's lying." While I countered that, my administrator didn't think that she had memory problems and decided it was a ploy for attention. Not understanding memory loss with trauma is a whole other area that requires training and strategies.

-Even if you have an administration who buys into trauma informed education, the "trauma team" has yet to be trained, certified, and put into action with a cohesive trauma plan and methodology to deal with it. It is my belief that trauma counselors are few, so the idea of having a trauma counselor is far-fetched in each school. Guidance counselors, all school adminstrators, and special education staff should be trained and certified in working with kids with trauma, using trauma based strategies that are shown to be effective. There are not enough bodies in the school trained for the numbers of kiddos who have experienced trauma. Our teachers don't even use basic behavioral strategies (you know, positive reinforcement, cueing (that's yelling at a kid to turn around), and teaching the kids expected classroom behaviors. The administration lacks consistency in dealing with these kids, because they aren't trained.

_New programs for kids who have had trauma and need a place to regroup (do mindfulness practices, yoga, mindful music, etc. do not exist. We have a room, where children go to "do work." How much is accomplished in understanding one's behavior copying the dictionary, doing homework they don't understand or havent been taught because they are in a little room w/o instruction, may be a poor reader, or are dissociating and can't read or comprehend the directions in the moment." Mindful practices should be available 7 hrs a day, for all trauma kiddos as a way to regroup-so they can return to the class the same day once they get grounded.

-Then there is educational reality for teachers. Teachers are often fixers....helpers....and often come from co-dependent backgrounds where there was neglect, drugging/alcoholic parents, or left to their own to fend for themselves, or worse. I became a teacher to help others. I was six when I first wanted to be a teacher. I came from trauma. This "helping characteristic "is also seen in all the helping professions (to include therapists, nurses, docs, counselors, etc.) as a predominant characteristic in many teachers (most are not lured into teaching for the big $). Just as with therapists who benefit from supervision in their therapy practice, to deal with the overload of emotional stuff when dealing with traumatized children, teachers who deal with high numbers of special needs, behaviorally disordered, and trauma kiddos need their own mandatory school-based therapy. Running that program-finding those resources, not enough funding but teachers are welcome to pay for their own therapy (as well as supplies that the school didn't pay for). Teachers, unfortunately, give and give and give until they have nothing left but frustration, high stress, medical/psychological problems, and uncaring or unresponsive administrators.

Boundaries: I worry that professional boundaries are very muddy in the education field-special educators and regular educators both are doing more "laymans counseling" and guidance counselors and administrators are "punting" without a sound methodology for dealing with these kids. My principal didn't even know the techniques for grounding a child whose been bullied and terrified (I'm talking deep breathing basics). I do think guidance counselors are better at it than our adminstrators, but many of our guidance counselors have minimal training in how to deal with the more severely traumatized kiddos. I worry about the boundaries, where teachers will get into trouble for doing more than teaching-and someone will call it counseling. A lack of resources creates this scenario. What to do? Parents don't see things from this perspective.....especially if they are abusive themselves.

 

[Digz]

Thank you for all your responses. It is comforting at least, to know I am not the only one. @TruthSeeker I have identified a couple of children who I believed were likely experiencing or had experienced trauma, but because I am a trauma survivor my observations were brushed off and staff that had very minimal knowledge of trauma asserted that I was wrong because they'd met the family and they 'were pretty nice'.
Resources and funding are definitely a big issue, and it is commendable that schools are trying, but even with the limited funding it could be done so much better. It's sad to think there's so much knowledge just in this one little thread that could be utilised to help understanding, but there is sadly still so much stigma attached to trauma survivors. I was once, for example, told (without the principal even knowing my teaching or seeing it), that I couldn't possibly be a good teacher if I was a childhood trauma survivor!

As it stands, offensive one-size-fits-all terms with no consultation with survivors seems to be the way to go in schools! :/

@Friday - that story is horrific. This certainly highlights one of the clear problems with poorly educated or half educated teachers. Although, I would've thought this particular teacher running the 'divorce group' couldn't just used some damn common sense!

 

[TruthSeeker]

Thank you for all your responses. It is comforting at least, to know I am not the only one. @TruthSeeker I have identified a couple of children who I believed were likely experiencing or had experienced trauma, but because I am a trauma survivor my observations were brushed off and staff that had very minimal knowledge of trauma asserted that I was wrong because they'd met the family and they 'were pretty nice'.
Resources and funding are definitely a big issue, and it is commendable that schools are trying, but even with the limited funding it could be done so much better. It's sad to think there's so much knowledge just in this one little thread that could be utilised to help understanding, but there is sadly still so much stigma attached to trauma survivors. I was once, for example, told (without the principal even knowing my teaching or seeing it), that I couldn't possibly be a good teacher if I was a childhood trauma survivor!

As it stands, offensive one-size-fits-all terms with no consultation with survivors seems to be the way to go in schools! :/

@Friday - that story is horrific. This certainly highlights one of the clear problems with poorly educated or half educated teachers. Although, I would've thought this particular teacher running the 'divorce group' couldn't just used some damn common sense!

@Friday Common sense......it seems that more recently, I'm seeing such a lack of this in so many people-even experts in their field....because maybe it's becaome an abstract concept with social norms and boundaries becoming grayer?

 

[starvingGrad]

One thing I've noticed in my own experience is that ADD/ADHD has many of the same symptoms of childhood trauma. (I was a kid pumped full of stimulants for 20 years before finally defining that my mother was abusive) For a while I was really pissed off at all the adults in my life including teachers who should have recognized the signs of emotional/verbal abuse but never did anything to intervene. Except they did... they decided that my attention and memory issues, isolation and withdrawal and bad social skills must be due to the non-hyper form of ADD I supposedly had. It was an easy explanation for all the adults involved, and it could be "treated" with medication to make me "just like the normal kids". *eyeroll* I think many kids had parents who taught them bad lessons about what it means to have ADD/ADHD, that there was something defective about them that needed fixing so their parents could have a normal kid. Granted, I still take my meds to this day. Now as an adult I question every part of my childhood experience especially how people responded to the issues I was having. I couldn't tell people my mother screamed constantly and bullied me. I didn't have a safe space to say it, much less be believed. I worked with kids during my late teens into my 20s, and coworkers always said I was overly concerned about child abuse in all forms and that "sometimes kids just say stuff" or "make things up", I guess my subconscious was trying to tell me something about my own childhood and I was hyper vigilant for any signs of abuse and kids speaking up about something.

I recently came across blueknot.org.au they've got some great fact sheets for recognizing and understanding complex trauma such as childhood trauma etc. Schools should definitely have training for all staff about the different types of abuse, how to recognize it and how to communicate with children in a safe way about what's going on. My life looked normal on the outside, but it was rotten to the core- why would anyone have questioned it.