Some Strategies to Support Students Exhibiting
Traumatic Stress
In general...
- Psychological Safety / Safety Messages
- Supportive Positive Climate
- Positive Corrective Relationships
- High Ratios of Positive Interactions
- Structure & Routines (predictability)
- Teach & Post Expectations
- Provide support needed for Academic Success
Symptom: Hypervigilant
- Safety Messages
- Structure & Routines (predictability)
- Teach & Post Expectations
Symptom: Reactivity/ Explosive
Psychological Safety
Trauma Informed Safety Plan
- Use Your Trauma Lens: empathy for negative coping behavior
- Eliminate blaming, scolding, shaming
- Offer corrections in private and not during intense emotion
- Trigger Detective
- Identify Calming Strategies for specific students
- Mindfulness, relaxation, refocusing strategies
- Physical activity/ movement breaks
Trauma Informed Safety Plan
- Plan responses in advance / Safe Crisis Management Plan
- Teach class room clear
- Utilize Calming/ De-escalation strategies
- Model, teach, support emotion regulation strategies & when to use them
- Teach students about anger cycle, emotional dysregulation, brain responses, fight, flee freeze, etc.
Symptom: Intrusive Thoughts
- Psychological Safety
- Use active student engagement strategies
- ‘Mindfulness’ to refocus
Cognitive Distortions
Sample IDEAS: What Can Teachers DO?
Sample IDEAS: What Can the Teacher DO?
Structure the classroom and create routines (predictability & consistency)
Teach routines & expectations
Create positive, safe climate (including Psychological Safety)
Build positive Corrective Relationship
Deliver high ratio of positive interactions daily
Provide consistent positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior
Send Safety Messages (verbal & non-verbal; ask about safety needs, listen, normalize, empathize, be honest, deliver)
Provide opportunities, structure and support for Academic Success
o Structure and organize instruction and instructions for success
o Teach needed content explicitly if not grasped easily
o Use active student engagement strategies (e.g., whole group responding)
o Reduce the volume of work for students who are overwhelmed with demands
o Emphasize/highlight essential features; provide repetition/review
o Motivate and enable student to experience and expect success
Use & model the Trauma Lens & provide empathetic verbal support as needed
Characterize challenging behavior as ineffective coping/ poor choice rather than “bad”
Provide private corrective feedback; avoid shaming, blaming, scolding the student in public
Be a Trigger Detective; identify & try to reduce exposure to triggers in classroom, manage reactions
Identify Calming Strategies specific to the student
Create Trauma Informed Safety Plan specific to the student
Plan anger prevention, management and response in advance
Plan how to manage your own intense emotions
Teach class ‘Room Clear’ procedures;
Plan trauma-sensitive Safe Physical Management strategy as a last resort
Teach student anger prevention and management
o Teach escalating cycle of emotional dysregulation (& age appropriate brain science)
o Teach student about own triggers and calming strategies
o Teach student how to respond to cues during/after a meltdown
o Teach effective ‘replacement behavior’ for student trauma responses
Provide alternatives to distorted thoughts/ Repack the Suitcase with verbal reframes
Build Competence through classroom jobs, building on strengths, starting small
Provide/ Access Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Instruction matched to student needs
Provide, structure, and support opportunities for peer-social success
Create private routines for listening to individual student concern
Communicate high expectations for the future & life success of the student
Structure the classroom and create routines (predictability & consistency)
Teach routines & expectations
Create positive, safe climate (including Psychological Safety)
Build positive Corrective Relationship
Deliver high ratio of positive interactions daily
Provide consistent positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior
Send Safety Messages (verbal & non-verbal; ask about safety needs, listen, normalize, empathize, be honest, deliver)
Provide opportunities, structure and support for Academic Success
o Structure and organize instruction and instructions for success
o Teach needed content explicitly if not grasped easily
o Use active student engagement strategies (e.g., whole group responding)
o Reduce the volume of work for students who are overwhelmed with demands
o Emphasize/highlight essential features; provide repetition/review
o Motivate and enable student to experience and expect success
Use & model the Trauma Lens & provide empathetic verbal support as needed
Characterize challenging behavior as ineffective coping/ poor choice rather than “bad”
Provide private corrective feedback; avoid shaming, blaming, scolding the student in public
Be a Trigger Detective; identify & try to reduce exposure to triggers in classroom, manage reactions
Identify Calming Strategies specific to the student
Create Trauma Informed Safety Plan specific to the student
Plan anger prevention, management and response in advance
Plan how to manage your own intense emotions
Teach class ‘Room Clear’ procedures;
Plan trauma-sensitive Safe Physical Management strategy as a last resort
Teach student anger prevention and management
o Teach escalating cycle of emotional dysregulation (& age appropriate brain science)
o Teach student about own triggers and calming strategies
o Teach student how to respond to cues during/after a meltdown
o Teach effective ‘replacement behavior’ for student trauma responses
Provide alternatives to distorted thoughts/ Repack the Suitcase with verbal reframes
Build Competence through classroom jobs, building on strengths, starting small
Provide/ Access Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Instruction matched to student needs
Provide, structure, and support opportunities for peer-social success
Create private routines for listening to individual student concern
Communicate high expectations for the future & life success of the student
