Trauma Informed Practice: Increasing Awareness for Pre-Service School Counselors

Life challenges and traumas come in many forms and the capacity to bounce back, adapt, and move on to a new normal also comes in many forms. This study examined some common life challenges and trauma experiences and how persons in these have reacted and grown past the experiences. The study also used action research to provide graduate student counselors insight on facets of trauma that they could help with in service as counselors.The study was conducted by 102 school counseling and clinical mental health counseling students in a graduate level Lifespan Development course with volunteers selected by them to share through interview impact of challenges and resilience formation in the challenge areas of Substance Addiction; Habit Addiction; Disabilities; Natural Disaster Trauma; Combat Trauma; Other Individual Trauma such as a House Fire, Domestic Violence, Child Sexual Abuse, or Severe Accident; Community Event; Couple Event; Family Event; or School Event. The volunteers shared description of the life challenge or trauma; whole person reactions to the event from immediate to current reaction (at least a year post-event); life factors pre-event that may have contributed to the occurrence of the event or compounded recovery from the event; and life factors both preand post-event that helped with recovery from the event. The graduate students then synthesized answers to frame potential pathways to explore further for enhancement of resilience building with future clients and students and to support students in recovery and healing from trauma experiences while in their schools.