Creating Supportive Learning Environments for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma

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Creating Supportive Learning Environments for
Children Who Have Experienced Trauma

• Presentation at the
• Exploring New Possibilities Joint Conference of
  the Oregon School Counselor Association, March
  2007

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PRESENTERS

• Mary Brown, Med, ESA
• Director of School Counseling Assistant
  Professor, Gonzaga University
• Kristin Souers, MA LMHC
• Private Practitioner Adjunct faculty member at
  Gonzaga University and Washington State
  University
• Meredith Osborne, MA Candidate
• Graduate Student, Gonzaga University
• Abby Ratley, MA Candidate
• Graduate Student, Gonzaga University

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TRAINING OBJECTIVES

• Participants will
• Understand the prevalence of trauma in the lives
  of children in the United States/Washington State
• Understand the effects of trauma on academic
  performance, behavior and relationships
• Explore strategies for creating a
  trauma-sensitive environment utilizing a
  comprehensive counseling program

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Trauma

• an exceptional experience in which powerful and
  dangerous events overwhelm a persons capacity to
  cope. (Fitzgerald Groves)
• A persons response often involves
• Intense fear
• Horror
• Helplessness
• In children, it may look more agitated and
  disorganized

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Acute Trauma vs. Chronic Trauma

• Acute Trauma
• A single traumatic event that overwhelms a
  childs ability to cope.
• Chronic Trauma
• Exposure to more than one-often many-traumatic
  events over time.
• (Fitzgerald Groves)

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Complex Trauma

• the experience of multiple or chronic and
  prolonged, developmentally adverse traumatic
  events, most often of a personal nature (sexual
  or physical abuse, war, community violence) and
  early life onset.
• These exposures often occur within the childs
  care giving system
• (Spinazzola, et al)

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• Exposure to extremely stressful conditions that
  one cant change or escape from can have profound
  effects on anyone, regardless of age. It can
  alter how we see the world, how we see others,
  and how we perceive our own worth.
• Mark Katz. (1997). On Playing a Poor Hand Well,
  p. 5

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Looking through the trauma-sensitive lens
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Prevalence

• Approximately 1 million children (0-18) each year
  are officially substantiated as victims of child
  abuse and neglect in the U.S. (US Dept. of Health
  and Human Services Administration on Children,
  Youth, and Families, 2005).
• Victims of abuse are 12 times more likely to
  attempt suicide than non victims. (Putnam)
• Depression is at least 3-5 times more common in
  people who have histories of child maltreatment.
  (Putnam)
• At least half of all child maltreatment victims
  will experience serious school problems,
  especially conduct issues. (Putnam)

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Youth Suicide Death Rates, 1990 - 2005
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Juvenile Crime

• Compared to the national average, the juvenile
  arrest rate is 17 higher in Washington, and 24
  higher in Oregon.
• In 2004, individuals under age 25 accounted for
  46.9 percent of all the arrests in the United
  States.
• Source Office of Juvenile Justice and
  Delinquency Prevention Bulletin December 2006

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School Environment

• Consistent with the findings from 1999 and 2001,
  students in 2005 were more likely to be afraid of
  being attacked when they were at school than away
  from school.
• The percentage of students who reported that they
  had been bullied at school increased from 8 in
  2001 to 28 in 2005.
• Source National Center for Education Statistics
  (NCES) Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2006

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Factors that Influence Childrens Response to
Trauma

• Nature and Perception of the Experience
• Age of the Child
• Characteristics of the Child
• Protective Factors
• Risk Factors

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Protective Factors

• those variables that buffer children from
  adversity.
• Ex. Positive temperament
• Childs intellectual capacity
• Social competence
• Secure attachments
• Living in supportive safe environments/close
  knit communities

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Risk Factors

• variables that are associated with an increased
  likelihood of poor physical, emotional, and
  behavioral outcomes.
• Ex. Premature birth
• Parent Mental Illness
• Parent Substance abuse
• Exposure to Violence
• Poverty
• Homelessness

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How does trauma impact Children and Adolescents?
What does it look like?

• Attachment
• Learning
• Cognition Biology
• Self Regulation
• Emotional Behavioral Regulation
• Self-Concept

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Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on
them makes an impression." Hiam Ginott
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Attachment

• bonds of love between child and parents
• the balance between exploratory and
  caregiver-seeking behaviors.
• this relationship also provides the scaffolding
  for the growth of many developmental
  competencies.
• A secure attachment pattern is present in
  approximately 55-65 of the population
• Insecure attachment patterns have been
  consistently documented in over 80 of maltreated
  children

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Our sense of I is profoundly influenced by how
we belong to a we.Taken from Parenting from
the Inside Out by Daniel Siegal and Mary Hartzell
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How complex trauma may/can disrupt attachment

• Problems with boundaries
• Hesitant to look towards adults for attention or
  supportsuspiciousness and distrust
• Sense of security and safety can be compromised
  or destroyed
• Uncertainty about the reliability and
  predictability of the world
• Difficulty forming trusting relationships with
  othershesitant to enlist others as allies
• Trouble interpreting emotional signals

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Learning

• Brain Development
• The brain is shaped the most during the first 10
  years of life.
• Life shapes the brain's development.
• the brain sculpts itself in response to
  external experiences at the same time as it is
  developing via genetically-based maturation
• Cognition
• the mental faculty or process of acquiring
  knowledge by the use of reasoning, intuition or
  perception

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How complex trauma can/may disrupt the developing
brain

• Sensorimotor developmental problems
• Hypersensitivity to physical contact
• Analgesia
• Problems with coordination, balance
• Increased medical problems
• Somatization
• Potential for lifelong reactivity to stress

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How complex trauma can/may disrupt cognition

• Difficulty in their ability to learn and process
  verbal information
• Harder to use language as a vehicle for
  communication
• Difficulty in organizing and remembering new
  information
• Difficulty understanding cause and effect
• Difficulty focusing on tasks at hand
• Difficulty planning and anticipating
• Problems with orientation in time and space
• Difficulty focusing on and completing tasks
• Tend to have poor problem solving skills

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Self Regulation

• the development of this system enables a child
  to exercise control over emotions and behaviors.
• A self system of gaining control over attention,
  emotions, and behavior.

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How complex trauma can/may disrupt
self-regulation

• Constantly scanning the world for warning signs
• Focus on non-verbals of others (facial
  expressions, voice tone, body language) In a
  constant state of survival mode
• Difficulty describing feelings and internal
  experiences
• Difficulty communicating wishes and desires
• Poor impulse control
• Lack of mentoring for appropriate behavior and
  communication with others
• Utilize aggressive behaviors to regain control
  over environment or to send message regarding
  lack of control
• Self soothing behaviors
• Sleep and eating disturbances
• Difficulty complying with rules
• Traumatic play

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Self-Concept

• the whole inner picture that somebody has of
  himself or herself, including a complete
  evaluation of such traits as competence, worth,
  and attractiveness

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How complex trauma can/may disrupt self-concept

• Feel incapable of having a positive impact on the
  outside world
• Hopelessness
• Difficulty in initiating play or having safety
  with imagination and exploration
• Low self-esteem--Diminished sense of self worth
• Disturbances of body image
• Shame and guilt Self blame
• Unsure of own needs and often lack capacity to
  get needs met

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How might Trauma Present itself in the schools

• Reactivity and Compulsivity
• Aggression
• Defiance
• Withdrawal
• Perfectionism
• Relationship with Peers and School Personnel

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Trauma and learning
• these are new insights into a range of
  childhood risks and adversities that are now
  recognized as beyond a childs ability to alter,
  no matter how hard he or she triesThey are
  inescapable and enduring. Trying harder wont
  make them go away.
• The childs job is to adapt as best as he/she
  canthe quest to gain control over ones life
• On Playing A Poor Hand Well. Mark Katz

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Looking through the trauma-sensitive lens
• Not realizing that children exposed to
  inescapable, overwhelming stress may act out
  their pain, that they may misbehave, not listen
  to us, or seek our attention in all the wrong
  ways, can lead us to punish these children for
  their misbehavior
• If only we knew what happened last night, or this
  morning before she got to school, we would be
  shielding the same child were now reprimanding.
• On Playing A Poor Hand Well. Mark Katz

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Trauma is a reaction to an external event.
• It is not always possible or appropriate to
  discover whether a childs learning,
  relationships, and behavioral difficulties are
  trauma responses.
• By establishing a trauma-sensitive environment
  throughout the school and by being aware that
  exposure to violence might be the issue, schools
  can help minimize the enduring effects of trauma.

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE The
Comprehensive School Counseling Program

• The comprehensive school counseling program can
• Mitigate the effects of trauma on learning
• Help create systemic change

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Comprehensive School Counseling Programs
• Utilizing the ASCA National Model Framework
• Foundation
• Delivery System
• Management System
• Accountability
• Advocacy..Leadership..Collaboration..Systemic
  Change

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVEFoundation

• Beliefs, assumptions, philosophy and mission
• Ongoing trauma can impair emotional and brain
  development
• Ongoing trauma can affect learning
• Early intervention and a supportive learning
  community can help.
• Schools are childrens communities
• Do we have the responsibility to expand the
  protective function of the school?
• Schools have a legal, moral and historical
  mandate to ensure that there are many adults who
  are interested in a particular childs welfare.
• Gertrude Morrow. The Compassionate School

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Foundation
• What evidence do we have that there may be
  events, experiences or conditions that are
  presenting environmental risks to our students?
• Out of school? (domestic violence, physical,
  sexual, emotional abuse, violence and danger in
  the neighborhood, foster home to foster home,
  etc.)
• In the school learning community? (bullying and
  harassment, physical and verbal abuse, behavior
  and learning disability, social isolation,

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Delivery System
• Three research based strands
• Key factors common to all competent children
• A strong parent-child relationship, or, when such
  a relationship is not available, a surrogate
  care-giving figure who serves a mentoring role.
• The ability to self-regulate attention, emotions,
  and behaviors.
• 3. Good cognitive skills, which predict
  academic success and lead to rule-abiding
  behavior

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Delivery SystemThe ARC ModelSchools are
uniquely positioned to

• A - Build secure Attachments
• Schools can partner with families and strengthen
  traumatized childrens relationships with adults
  in and out of school
• R - Enhance Self-Regulatory Capacities
• Schools can help children to modulate and
  self-regulate their emotions and behaviors
• C - Increase Competencies Across Multiple Domains
• Schools can enable children to develop their
  academic potential/competence and change
  capabilities in other areas

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE The ARC Model

• Delivery System
• Crosswalking ASCA National Standards with the
  Three Program Delivery Strands
• Attachment - Relationship
• Regulation of Emotions
• Competence

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• MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE
• The ARC Model
• Building Attachments
• Attachment is the ability to form and maintain
  healthy emotional connection to another person.
• Educators are in a position to affect students
  lives in ways that are very profound. Emotional
  resilience is learned within a relationship.
• Build a solid and caring relationship based on
  safety and structure

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The ARC ModelBuilding Attachments

• Its the relationship
• These children arent seeking attention (even
  though they will settle for it). They are looking
  for a safe and trustworthy relationship
  (connection).
• The Circle of Security Project 2000
• Cooper, Hoffman, and Powell
• Marycliff Institute, Spokane, WA

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The ARC Model Building Attachments

• Consistent support from caring people
• Safe and trustworthy relationship
• Strong attachment figures are people who are
  bigger, stronger, wiser, and kind

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The ARC Model Building Attachments

• Create structure
• Allow the child to know you are in charge and
  that your decisions are fair, caring and
  trustworthy.
• Establish and maintain clear boundaries
• Focus on positives/firm limit on negatives
• Reduce isolation
• Scared, lonely, bored, sad
• Join others, contribute to a group

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The ARC Model Building Attachments

• Establish Predictability clarity of
  position/consistency of approach consistency in
  responsiveness and availability
• Timing of lessons and activities
• Transitions without trauma
• Safety
• Written plans

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The ARC Model Enhancing Self-Regulatory
Capacities

• The ability to self-regulate or modulate
  emotions is a key predictor of academic and
  social success.
• Masten and Coatsworth
• Lack of capacity for emotional self-regulation
  so critical to school functioning is probably the
  most striking feature of these chronically
  traumatized children.
• Streeck-Fischer and van der Kolk

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The ARC Model Enhancing Self-Regulatory
Capacities

• Emotional regulation is ones ability to
  tolerate distressing emotions.
• Self regulation is ones ability to be in charge
  of attention, emotion, and behavior rather than
  having those be in control of the person.
• Teach the relationship between feeling, thinking
  and doing and the power of self management
  (internal locus of control) to create better
  outcomes.

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The ARC Model Enhancing Self-Regulatory
Capacities

• Guidance curriculum
• Individual and group counseling
• Consultation
• Staff development All staff help traumatized
  children modulate their emotions and gain social
  and academic competence

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The ARC Model Increasing Competencies across
Multiple Domains

• To increase competencies, direct strategies at
• Changing capabilities (e.g. tutoring)
• Context (e.g. parent education, access to
  opportunities, school reform)
• Finding a better fit between child and context
• Masten and Coatsworth

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The ARC Model Increasing Competencies across
Multiple Domains

• Direct strategies at changing capabilities
• Schools can be a protective influence by
• Stimulating and nourishing talents which might
  otherwise go unnoticed. Finding islands of
  competence
• Multiple ways of presenting information
• Remediating specific areas of vulnerability
• Enhancing social and interpersonal abilities
  necessary for friendships and other relationships
  to develop

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The ARC Model Increasing Competencies across
Multiple Domains

• Permanently altering the developmental
  trajectories of children who would otherwise
  develop serious emotional and behavioral
  difficulties
• Instilling a sense of hope and future in children
  and families who would otherwise give up.
• Understanding the connection between behavior and
  emotion. Identifying and processing feelings.
• Avoiding labels
• Consistency

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The ARC Model Increasing Competencies across
Multiple Domains

• Direct strategies at context
• For children who are competent in overcoming
  trauma, there is protection within the child,
  within the family, and within the community.

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The ARC Model Increasing Competencies across
Multiple Domains

• Direct strategies at context
• The school can be a protective influence by
• Setting the parameters of acceptable behavior
  among all. Students must be taught acceptable
  behavior and adults must model it.
• Balancing accountability with understanding of
  traumatic behavior
• Teaching rules to traumatized children
• Minimizing disruption of education
• Creating uniform rules and consequences
• Model respectful, nonviolent relationships

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The ARC Model Increasing Competencies across
Multiple Domains

• Direct strategies at finding a better fit between
  child and context
• Creating a goodness of fit between a childs
  strengths and talents and an environment that
  recognizes and values these strengths and
  talents, opens up opportunities for turning point
  experiences to occur.
• On Playing a Good Hand Well by Mark Katz

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Accountability

• How are students different as a result of the
  comprehensive counseling program trauma sensitive
  interventions?
• Process e.g. numbers of students, parents
  reached
• Perception e.g. school climate survey
• Results e.g. achievement, discipline,
  attendance, dropout statistics

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MAKING SCHOOLS TRAUMA-SENSITIVE

• Advocacy
• School counselors
• Advocate for students educational needs and
  work to ensure these needs are addressed at every
  level of the school experience.
• Believe, support and promote every students goal
  to achieve success in school.
• Work proactively with students to remove barriers
  to learning.
• ASCA National Model

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Be kinder than necessaryWe are all in the same
boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a
terrible loyalty. G. K. Chesterton
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Be kinder than necessaryWe are all in the same
boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a
terrible loyalty. G. K. Chesterton
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CONTACT INFORMATION

• Kristin Souers, MA LMHC
• ksouers_at_comcast.net
• 703 W. 7th Suite 200
• Spokane, WA 99204

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SOURCES

• Cohen, Mannarino, Deblinger. Treating Trauma
  and Traumatic Grief in Children and Adolescents.
  Guilford Press. 2006.
• Cole et al. Helping Traumatized Children Learn.
  Massachusetts Advocates for Children, 2005.
• Cook, Blaustein, Spinazzola, and Van Der Kolk
  Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents White
  Paper National Child Traumatic Stress Network,
  2003.
• Dinkes, R., Cataldi, E.F., Kena, G., and Baum, K.
  (2006). Indicators of School Crime and Safety
  2006 (NCES 2007003/NCJ 214262). U.S. Departments
  of Education and Justice. Washington, DC U.S.
  Government Printing Office.

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SOURCES CONT

• Fitzgerald Groves, Zero to three. Hope and
  healing A caregivers guide to Helping Young
  Children Affected by Trauma. 2005.
• Groves. Children Who See Too Much. Beacon Press,
  2003.
• Hernandez, Thomas Seem, Susan. A Safe School
  Climate A Systemic Approach and the School
  Counselor. ASCA Professional School Counseling.
  April 2004.
• Jaycox, Lisa, H., Morse, Lindsey K., Tanielian,
  Terri, Stein, Bradley D. How Schools Can Help
  Students Recover from Traumatic Experiences A
  Tool Kit for Supporting Long-Term Recovery. The
  RAND Corporation. 2006.

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SOURCES CONT

• Katz, M., On Playing A Poor Hand Well. WW Norton
  and Company, 1997.
• Koralek. Classroom Strategies to Promote
  Children's Social and Emotional Development.
  DECA. The Devereux Foundation, 1999.
• Putnam, Frank. The Impact of Trauma on Child
  Development Juvenile and Family Court Journal
  Winter 2006.
• Siegel Hartzell. Parenting from the Inside
  Out. Penguin Group. 2003

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SOURCES CONT

• Snyder, Howard. Juvenile Arrests 2004 Juvenile
  Justice Bulletin Office of Juvenile Justice and
  Delinquency Prevention December 2006
• Solomon Siegel. Healing Trauma. Norton, 2003.
• Spinazolla, Ford, Zucker Van De Kolk, Survey
  Evaluates Complex Trauma Exposure, Outcome, and
  Intervention Among Children and Adolescents.
  Psychiatric Annals May 2005.
• Van der Kolk, Bessel. Developmental Trauma
  Disoder A new, rational diagnosis for children
  with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric
  Annals Month 200X.