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Note: These sessions are recorded and shared on the BCcampus COVID Note: These sessions are recorded and shared on the BCcampus COVID

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Be Calm. Be Kind. Be Safe. Be Calm. Be Kind. Be Safe.

– Dr. Bonnie Henry

• Dr. Bonnie Henry

Trauma-Informed Practice and Building Resilience during COVID-19

Facilitators name(s): Nancy Poole, Justice Institute of BC Lenora Marcellus, University of Victoria Elizabeth Poag, Camosun College

June 10, 2020

Territorial Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge and honour the territory and the lands on which we are gathered: In Victoria, the Lekwungen people (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations), and WSÁNEĆ (Saanich). And other numerous nations across British Columbia - type yours in the chat!

TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICE

• Trauma informed approaches are relational ones

that take into account how common the experience and enduring effects of trauma can be

• TIP is not a counselling technique, instead it is a

paradigm for providing support, structuring learning environments, and creating

• rganizational culture change
• TIP is not based on disclosing trauma. Instead it

can be seen as a “universal precaution” that is

• ffered when working with everyone
• TIP is based on principles that include creating

safety, promoting choice and building skills

Trauma informed approaches are being adopted by many agencies and systems - addictions, child welfare, homelessness, justice, health, education . . . .

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/hea lth/child-teen-mental-health/trauma- informed_practice_guide.pdf http://bccewh.bc.ca/wp- content/uploads/2012/05/2013_ TIP-Guide.pdf

BEING INFORMED ABOUT TRAUMA

▪ Decades of work about violence

against women and women’s health

▪ Wisdom from Indigenous scholars and

community-based knowledge keepers

▪ Research from public health on

Adverse Childhood Experiences

▪ Understanding of neurobiology

TIP CONNECTS UP KNOWLEDGE FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS

DEFINING TRAUMA

Trauma is a response to experience(s) that are overwhelming; significantly compromising

• ur sense of safety.

The experience of trauma is unexpected, and beyond our ability to stop Disrupts our world view/understanding of the world as safe, and/or predictable, and disrupts cognitive and emotional regulation and/or functioning; forces changes in the ways in which we cope Therefore – it is not necessarily the event itself that is traumatic, but rather the impact of the event on our sense of safety, and of ourselves.

WHY DO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND TRAUMA?

It is important to understand the effects of trauma and the links to other challenges that students and faculty face, so that we can work in a way that:

• honours what has happened in people’s lives
• does not add to people’s burdens, by

retraumatizing

• notices how people are coping, their strength

and resilience

• helps people build further positive skills for

coping or healing

TYPES OF TRAUMA

Complex trauma: the effects of trauma experiences that happen multiple times; over time (eg/ ongoing abuse, domestic violence, war) Single incident trauma – the effects

• f a trauma experience such as a

natural disaster, an accident, or a sudden unexpected loss Developmental trauma: the effects

• f exposure to trauma as infants,

children or youth. Includes neglect, abandonment, abuse, witnessing violence or death, and/or coercion or

• betrayal. This interferes with healthy

attachment and development. Intergenerational trauma: effects that can be experienced by people who live with trauma survivors. Coping patterns developed in response to trauma can be passed on from one generation to the next

GROUP AND HISTORICAL TRAUMA

A trauma informed practice needs inclusion of how colonization worked cumulatively to create complex trauma. Renee Linklater

A trauma informed response system can mean that long negative effects are avoided.

Traumatic Event

Experience of the event (Survival response: Fight/Flight/Freeze)

Long term effects – continued physical and mental health concerns, adverse effects on relationships, community connections and spirituality

Medium term effects –not able to stabilize or self regulate Medium term effects –able to stabilize, self regulate, make meaning of the event

Long term effects – physical and mental health, resilience, positive connections to family, community and spirituality Exposure to cumulative traumatic events creates a cycle of effects

Long term effects may be large or small, may lessen or worsen over time, and will vary for different individuals

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Adapted from https://trauma- informed.ca/

RESPONSES TO TRAUMA

Biological responses

• Release of stress hormone cortisol
• In the moment, biological responses might

look like crying, tight muscles, shallow breathing, heart pounding, feeling numb, feeling agitated . . .

• Long-term activation of the nervous system

can lead to poor health outcomes Psychological responses

• When the limbic system (emotional centre of

the brain) is engaged, the “thinking brain” is less accessible, leading to difficulties with learning, memory, and reasoning

• Impacts can include intrusive memories,

nightmares, flashbacks Social responses

• Difficulty navigating relationships with others
• Isolation and avoiding people, conversations,

situations, places, objects and feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations

• Reactivity, heightened emotional responses

Spiritual responses

• Compromised sense of self – low self-

esteem/concept of self-worth

• Loss of sense of purpose, loss of hope
• Loss of connection to self and others
• Loss of faith/beliefs; changes in core values
• Persistent guilt, anger, and/or fear

IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF FEELING THREATENED OR OVERWHELMED

• When we are threatened, our “fight or flight” system is activated
• We cannot control the “fight or flight” response, it arises from our autonomic

nervous system

• For many trauma survivors, this system is activated when interactions or

environments mimic trauma experiences. This response can be triggered by actual threats as well as perceived threats, or things that remind us of past harm

• When our fight or flight system is activated, we cannot “calm down” until we

feel safe again

Davidson, S. (2017). Trauma informed practices for post-secondary education: A guide. Education Northwest.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Covid-19-Has-Worsened- the/248753 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11- 627-m/11-627-m2020032-eng.htm

IS THIS VIEW OF TRAUMA AND TRAUMA INFORMED ALIGNED WITH YOUR PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING? HAS ANYTHING NEW EMERGED FOR YOU?

WORKING FROM PRINCIPLES

THESE 4 PRINCIPLES HELP US APPLY TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACHES

Awareness Safety and Trustworthiness Choice, Control, Collaboration Strength, Skills and Empowerment

• 1. Awareness of the prevalence and

impacts of trauma, and the adaptations that people make to cope

• 2. Creating safety and fostering trust
• 3. Offering choice and control, fostering

collaboration

• 4. Supporting the development of specific

skills

AWARE

We can bring into our work awareness:

• 1. Of the effects of trauma – the wide range of responses survivors have
• 2. Of the implications for learning (e.g. survivors possibly expressing

feelings of anger, mistrust, fear, refusal of help)

• 3. Of resilience – we are not case-seeking for trauma, but instead we are

seeking for (and enhancing) resilience

• 4. Of the implications for educators as well (vicarious trauma)

What are we doing to bring awareness of trauma and coping responses into our work? Am I paying attention to signs of distress? Do I know where resources and supports are located and the process of accessing these?

SAFETY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS

Central to trauma informed approaches are:

• 1. Creating safety to discuss the challenges facing individuals, families and

communities

• 2. Safety that is physical , emotional, spiritual and cultural.
• 3. Consideration of how to move from confrontational and directive

approaches to ones that build relationship and trust .

What are we doing to bring safety and trustworthiness into our work Is the learning environment calm and inviting? Have I created rules for engagement in the classroom?

CHOICE, COLLABORATION AND CONNECTION

• 1. TIP is a relational practice
• 2. Reparative of overwhelming and power-over experiences
• 3. Supportive of people having agency, self determination and ‘power within’

What are we doing to promote choice, collaboration and connection? Have I created a classroom where we view one another as allies How do we address accountability concerns?

STRENGTHS BASED

• 1. TIP aligns well with what Indigenous experts have identified as

the importance of starting from strengths not deficits

• 2. It involves acknowledging resilience and enhancing coping and

healing strategies.

• What are we doing to enhance strengths, recognize and build resilience?
• How do I incorporate students as experts in their own learning experiences?
• How have I acknowledged and addressed implicit biases and their effect on teaching and learning?

SKILL BUILDING

• What are we doing to practice and teach skills?
• How do I recognize strengths and resiliencies?
• Do students have an ability to negotiate an alternate assignment if the course assignment will put them at

risk?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/bri tish-columbia/b-c-government- launches-new-mental-health- service-for-post-secondary- students-1.5535025

SKILLS AND STRENGTHS

• CONNECTIONS FOR

STUDENTS

POST-SECONDARY STRATEGIES SUMMARY

• Strengthen connection to students – relational teaching
• Validate their experiences
• Be flexible with enacting syllabus and disciplinary processes, balancing with maintaining

academic integrity and quality of program (“high expectations, high support”)

• Be open to various forms of accommodation
• Understand trauma symptomatology and differentiate from student misconduct
• Reach out early if you sense a student is struggling
• Establish routines within virtual contexts, create some sense of certainty and structure
• Create or facilitate development of social networks
• Encourage students to maintain positive self-care activities
• Be aware of your institution’s resources

WHAT STANDS OUT AS A TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACH THAT YOU ARE ALREADY USING?

BEING TRAUMA INFORMED AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

SELF CARE AND DEBRIEFING – FOR EDUCATORS

It is important to note that it is not

• nly about

individual teachers using TIP but about whole organizations and systems changing their cultures. This image of that

• rganizational

change process comes from the Trauma Transformed group in the Bay Area Source:

http://traumatransformed.

• rg/wp-

content/uploads/Copy-of- TOTIHO-Updated- 040319-11x17_Healing- Organization-Chart.pdf

Awareness Safety and Trustworthiness Choice, Control, Collaboration Empowerment Strengths-based, Focus on Skill- building

PRINCIPLES OF TIP

TRAUMA RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY

• Davidson, S. (2017). Trauma informed practices for post-

secondary education: A guide. Education Northwest.

• Gutierrez, D. & Gutierrez, A. (2019). Developing a trauma-

informed lens in the college classroom and empowering students through building positive relationships. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 12(1), 11-18.

• Sanders, J. E. (2019). Teaching note—Trauma-informed teaching

in social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 1-8. DOI: https://doi-

• rg.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1080/10437797.2019.1661923
• Alberta Health Services Trauma informed Care Learning

Modules https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/Page15526.aspx

WHAT STANDS OUT AS AN IDEA OR APPROACH YOU WILL TAKE AWAY FROM TODAY?