Hostname: page-component-76dd75c94c-68sx7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T08:31:02.569Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The School Counsellor’s Role in Trauma-Aware Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2021

Judith Howard ,
Lyra L’Estrange  and
Meegan Brown
Judith Howard*
Affiliation:
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Lyra L’Estrange
Affiliation:
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Meegan Brown
Affiliation:
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr Judith Howard, Queensland University of Technology, School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin GroveQLD4059, Australia. Email: ja.howard@qut.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

It is not unusual for school counsellors to be involved in trauma-aware education practice; however, their role is not uniformly defined in the literature nor consistently applied in professional settings. Trauma-aware education is relatively new but rapidly growing in Australia and beyond. It involves supporting students in a neuroscience-informed manner to address the impacts of complex trauma on their capacities to feel safe, to relate, to emotionally regulate, and to learn. Twenty-six school counsellors completed questionnaires, and eight of those joined focus group discussions to explore the role of school counsellors in trauma-aware practice in Queensland, Australia. Drawing on the voices of practitioners, the present report discusses categories of practice that are prioritised by school counsellors and recommends supports to effectively undertake trauma-aware practice in school settings.

Keywords

trauma-awaretrauma-informedschool counsellor
Type
Original Article
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , December 2022 , pp. 243 - 253
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

For the purposes of this article, the term trauma-aware can be considered as synonymous to trauma-informed, and trauma-sensitive.

References

Allison, A.C., & Ferreira, R.J. (2017). Implementing cognitive behavioral intervention for trauma in schools (CBITS) with Latino youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 34, 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0486-9 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balch, T., & Balch, B. (2019). Building great school counselor-administrator teams: A systematic approach to supporting students, staff, and the community. Solution Tree Press.Google Scholar
Berger, E. (2019). Multi-tiered approaches to trauma-informed care in schools: A systematic review. School Mental Health, 11, 650–664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-019-09326-0 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, E., Bearsley, A., & Lever, M. (2020). Qualitative evaluation of teacher trauma knowledge and response in schools. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2020.1806976 Google Scholar
Berger, E., Martin, K., & Phal, A. (2020). Dealing with student trauma: Exploring school leadership experiences and impact. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2020.1836231 Google Scholar
Berger, E., & Samuel, S. (2020). A qualitative analysis of the experiences, training, and support needs of school mental health workers regarding student trauma. Australian Psychologist, 55, 498–507. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12452 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunzell, T., Stokes, H., & Waters, L. (2018). Why do you work with struggling students? Teacher perceptions of meaningful work in trauma-impacted classrooms. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43, 116–142. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n2.7 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa, D.A. (2017). Transforming traumatised children within NSW Department of Education Schools: One school counsellor’s model of practice — REWIRE. Children Australia, 42, 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/cha.2017.14 Google Scholar
Dorado, J.S., Martinez, M., McArthur, L.E., & Leibovitz, T. (2016). Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS): A whole-school, multi-level, prevention and intervention program for creating trauma-informed, safe and supportive schools. School Mental Health, 8, 163–176.10.1007/s12310-016-9177-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DuBois, A., & Mistretta, M. (2020). Overcoming burnout and compassion fatigue in schools: A guide for counselors, administrators, and educators. Routledge.Google Scholar
Howard, J. (2019). A Systemic framework for trauma-informed schooling: Complex but necessary. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 28, 545–565. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2018.1479323 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howell, P.B., Thomas, S., Sweeney, D., & Vanderhaar, J. (2019). Moving beyond schedules, testing and other duties as deemed necessary by the principal: The school counselor’s role in trauma informed practices. Middle School Journal, 50, 26–34. https:doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2019.1650548 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IBM Corp. (2018). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows.Google Scholar
Martinez, R.R. Jr., Williams, R.G., & Green, J. (2020). The role of school counselors delivering a trauma-informed care approach to supporting youth in foster care. Professional School Counseling, 23, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20947747 Google Scholar
O’Gorman, S. (2018). The case for integrating trauma informed family therapy clinical practice within the school context. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46, 557–565. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2017.1407919 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ormiston, H.E., Nygaard, M.A., & Heck, O.C. (2020). The role of school psychologists in the implementation of trauma-informed multi-tiered systems of support in schools. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2020.1848955 Google Scholar
Parker, M., & Henfield, M.S. (2012). Exploring school counselors’ perceptions of vicarious trauma: A qualitative study. Professional Counselor, 2, 134–142. https://doi.org/10.15241/mpp.2.2.134 Google Scholar
Perfect, M.M., Turley, M.R., Carlson, J.S., Yohanna, J., & Saint Gilles, M.P. (2016). School-related outcomes of traumatic event exposure and traumatic stress symptoms in students: A systematic review of research from 1990 to 2015. School Mental Health, 8, 7–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-016-9175-2 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawson, S. (2021). Applying trauma-sensitive practices in school counseling. Routledge.Google Scholar
Reinbergs, E.J., & Fefer, S.A. (2018). Addressing trauma in schools: Multitiered service delivery options for practitioners. Psychology in the Schools, 55, 250–263. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22105 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rumsey, A.D., & Milsom, A. (2019). Supporting school engagement and high school completion through trauma-informed school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 22, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X19867254 Google Scholar
Shonkoff, J.P., Boyce, W.T., & McEwen, B.S. (2009). Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the childhood roots of health disparities: Building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention. Journal of the American Medical Association, 301, 2252–2259. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.754 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tang, A. (2020). The impact of school counseling supervision on practicing school counselors’ self-efficacy in building a comprehensive school counseling program. Professional School Counseling, 23, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20947723 Google Scholar
Teicher, M.H., Anderson, C.M., Ohashi, K., & Polcari, A. (2014). Childhood maltreatment: Altered network centrality of cingulate, precuneus, temporal pole and insula. Biological Psychiatry, 76, 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.016 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed