Transforming Stress and Trauma: Fostering Wellness and Resilience

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I attended a talk today by Reclaiming Bay Area futures. The talk was adapted from UCSF Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS) Curriculum. Great tools and strategies were shared to better create classrooms and as effective practitioners of Trauma-informed practices.

PPTs

Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS):A trauma-informed approach aimed at ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Building on a PBIS Multi-Level System of Support to Create Trauma-Sensitive Schools

Resources

TRAUMA-SENSITIVE SCHOOLS: RESOURCES Compiled by Joyce Dorado, PhD, Director, UCSF HEARTS

Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools Handout Packet

FOSTERING THE TRAUMA INFORMED CLASSROOM: UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA, THE BRAIN AND BEST STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS FOR RESPONSIVE CLASSROOMS

The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success

Creating and Advocating for Trauma-Sensitive Schools

Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators – The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2008)

Helping Traumatized Children Learn 1 – Supportive School Environments for Children Traumatized by Family Violence – Massachusetts Advocates for Children in collaboration with Harvard Law School and the Task Force on Children Affected by Domestic Violence. (2005) http://www.traumasensitiveschools.org.

Helping Traumatized Children Learn 2 –  Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative – a Partnership of Massachusetts Advocates for Children and Harvard Law School (2013) http://www.traumasensitiveschools.org

Michigan- Trauma Informed Care Toolkit

NASP – Trauma Sensitive Schools

BIG LIST- Resources for Beginning Trauma-Informed Practices

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The Language of Trauma and Loss provides teachers with information about the effect of trauma and loss on children, and the teacher’s role in identifying and referring appropriate students. The program also helps teachers establish a “safe” classroom and improve language arts skills using trauma and loss as a vehicle. The first video offers professional development information for teachers. The other three videos are age-specific for elementary, middle school and high school students, and are to be used as a vehicle to help students express their concerns. From PBS Link

Articles

Creating Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms Preschool-3rd grade

Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom

Values for a Trauma-Informed Care Culture in Your Classroom and SchoolACES in Education, August 2017

Dr. Daniel Siegel Presenting a Hand Model of the Brain – This is an excellent video depicting how you could explain the brain to students and adults.  “upstairs and downstairs brain”.  Another version by Dr. Siegal, (a little longer) is called “Flipping Your Lid:” A Scientific Explanation.

Why Schools Need to Be Trauma Informed – Oehlberg, B. (2008) Trauma and Loss, Research and Interventions V8N2 Fall/Winter

Unlocking the Door to Learning:  Trauma-Informed Classrooms & Transformational Schools – McInerney, M. and McKlindon, A. (2014)

Books

The Trauma-Informed School: A Step-by-Step Implementation Guide for Administrators and School Personnel by Jim Sporleder and Heather T. Forbes LCSW.

The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success

Creating Cultures of Trauma-Informed Care (CCTIC): A Self-Assessment and Planning Protocol

Help for Billy: A Beyond Consequences Approach to Helping Children in the Classroom by Heather T. Forbes, LCSW

The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: and other stories from a child psychiatrist’s notebook–what. traumatized children can teach us about loss, love by Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.

Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom by Susan E. Craig

Checklist/ Tools

Trauma-Sensitive School Checklist

Review Tool for School Policies, Protocols, Procedures & Documents: Examination through a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Lens

New Orleans Trauma-Informed Schools Environmental Scan Checklist

Videos and Films

Why we need Trauma-Sensitive Schools?

Children, Violence, and Trauma Interventions in School

Creating a Culture of Compassion in Schools

Transitioning to Trauma-Informed Practices to Support Learning

How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime

Paper Tigers

Resilience – The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope

Online Training Trauma-Informed Care Resources

Trauma Training for Educators.

This resource comes from the Community Schools of Central Texas. This can be used as professional development with a group, or by individuals. I have used pieces in day long professional development. After sharing with a former colleague who teaches at a local university, I’m told that all of their new teacher candidates now view this training. “This is a free training resource designed to give anyone who works with children important trauma-focused information about how student learning and behavior is impacted by trauma and how educators and support staff can help students develop a greater sense of safety at school and begin to build new emotional regulation skills.”

Trauma-Sensitive Schools Learning Modules

This wealth of information comes from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. It consists of 14 modules that can be completed online. These modules can be accessed individually. It follows a PBIS format, “focusing first on universal practices (Tier 1), followed by strategies for students who need additional support (Tier 2), and intensive interventions for students who require ongoing support (Tier 3).”

Relational Aggression 

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Developing friendships and maintaining healthy play is a cornerstone to a child’s education. Within the school is a safe place to practice and try out friendships and try different types of play. It is our job as parents and teachers to take advantage of the opportunities that come with peer conflict to provide the child/ children with an teachable moment. Here are some resources to support that effort.

Relational Aggression

Relational aggression (RA) is a nonphysical form of aggression whereby the perpetrator’s goal is to inflict or threaten damage to relationships, including harm to the target child’s social standing or reputation. This form of aggression may result in long-term psychological harm to victims. Source

RELATIONAL AGGRESSION – Overview

Dealing with Relational Aggression and Children: A Guide for Parents

Research Article It’s mean boys, not mean girls, who rule at school, study shows

Education Article Study: Boys, Not Just ‘Mean Girls,’ Use Relational Aggression

Little Bullies: Relational Aggression on the Playground

Resources From The Ophelia Project

Practical Strategies for Teachers- 5 STEPS for Teachers

Boys

Boys Relational Aggression Curriculum

Girls

Girls Relational Aggression Curriculum

 

Other Resources

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Understanding Playful vs. Hurtful Teasing and Bullying Behavior

Books

I Didn’t Know I Was a Bully (Grades K-5) Paperback – 2006

Tease Monster: A Book About Teasing Vs. Bullying (Building Relationships) Paperback –  by Julia Cook

Relational Aggression in Young Adults: Relational Aggression in Peer and Dating Relationships, Gender Difference, Attribution Bias, Emotional Distress Paperback by Violet Lim

The author Trudy Ludwig Bullying books.

Role Modeling for Resilience

Kids do what we model for them. This commercial is an extreme representation of bad role modeling called “Children See. Children Do.” It does represent how our behavior as adults model behavior for our children. (VIDEO is not for the squeamish).

What is resilience?

Resilience is a dynamic process wherein individuals display positive adaptation despite experiences of significant adversity or trauma. This term does not represent a personality trait or an attribute of the individual (Luthar et al., 2000; Masten, 1999; Rutter, 1999, 2000). Rather, it is a two-dimensional construct that implies exposure to adversity and the manifestation of positive adjustment outcomes. Source

Life can be challenging and may include many stressful situations. Parents and children can feel overwhelmed by different things at different times like:

Stressful situations

In times of need kids may need outside and inside supports:

inside and outside supports

Focus on developing multiple facets of developing a child’s sense of self in the world.

Take-The Resiliency Quiz

Cool concept: The Resiliency Doughnut

Great article on resiliency: Hard-Wired to Bounce Back- By Nan Henderson

Resources for Parents

Parenting Resilient Children at Home and at School

—www.raisingresilientkids.com

—www.dosomething.org

40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents – —www.search-institute.org

10 phrases you hear in resilient families: are you using them?

Explanatory style—thinking habits that affect our resilience

Great PowerPoint: Raising Resilient Children

Hopeful TED talk.

Talk for Educators: