The Ten Principles of Trauma-Informed Services and Application to School Environments

Abstract

For a school to be considered trauma-informed, the services and care must be provided in the context of an organization-wide approach grounded in an understanding of trauma and its consequences, with a focus on strengths, healing, and resilience. This requires a shift in the questions that are asked about children who have trouble learning or who interrupt the learning of others. Instead of asking a child, “what’s wrong with you?” the question becomes, “what happened to you?” Chapter 5 addresses the ten principles of trauma-informed services and delves into ways school social workers can create trauma-informed environments in educational settings to prevent children from being triggered and experiencing trauma in schools. Information and resources on self-care and vicarious trauma for school personnel are provided. The connection between culture and trauma is also explored.