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Trauma Informed Counselling for the

Refugee Student

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In This PL Series

01

02

03

04

05

Overview of Trauma Informed Counselling

Understanding Refugee Trauma

Counselling Approaches and Strategies

Supporting Resiliency Development

Addressing Vicarious Trauma

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Overview of Trauma Informed Counselling

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6 Guiding Principles to a Trauma-Informed Approach

Empowerment

2

Asset-Based Approach

1

Choice

4

Safety & Trust

Cultural Competence

6

3

Collaboration

5

GUIDING PRINCIPLES to a TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH

Trauma Awareness: understanding the effects of pre and post traumatic experiences, refugee health and well-being. A trauma informed approach begins with building awareness.

Emphasize Safety and Trust: ensure students physical, emotional and cultural safety and prevent re-traumatization.

Promote Empowerment: focus on natural resilience, promote skill building, encourage meaningful activities and link to resources.

Encourage Choice: involve students in setting priorities and fostering personal control.

Support Collaboration: Demonstrate respect. Provide information and encourage questions and ideas.

Use Strength-Based Skills Building: Help student identify their strengths and further develop resiliency and coping skills. How to recognize triggers and develop skills to assist with calming, and staying present.

Demonstrate Cultural Competence: Understand that perceptions of violence and safety and children's responses to trauma are determined by their past experiences.

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The

Invisible

Backpack

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Trauma-informed approaches draws our attention to trauma and classroom practices that are intended to support and help the child who has experienced trauma.

This presentation will briefly talk about how trauma affects children and their brains. We will touch on key concepts and how educators can incorporate trauma-informed approaches into our daily classrooms/interactions.

NERF BALL verses METAL HANGER

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With this approach, educators think about what student behavior may be telling them. And they reflect on their teaching practices to find ways to better support students who may be experiencing trauma.

In today’s presentation, we will gain a deeper understanding about why a child is behaving a certain way. We will discuss the importance of shifting our thinking from ‘what’s wrong with you?’ to ‘what happened to you?’” We will cover a brief understanding of neurobiology. When we understand trauma better, teachers should be able to identify it and know how to establish a “safe environment” and develop good relationships, often by better understanding student “triggers” that come from their difficult experience.

The first step is to understand who experiences trauma and why, and how it impacts learning.

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Children and Trauma

Children are more vulnerable to the stress of trauma because the brain is developing.

Children’s responses to trauma are complex and are different from those of adults.

Children’s traumatizing experiences can compromise all areas of childhood development, including self regulation, cognition, ability to manage behavior, and ability to trust self and others.

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ATTACHMENT
BIOLOGY (arousal system dysregulated, poor sensory-‐motor coordination)
AFFECT REGULATION (inability to experience identify, express, modulate emotions)
BEHAVIORAL CONTROL (to much or not enough inhibition)
COGNITION (social‐emotional and academic domains)
SELF-CONCEPT (highly negative, shame, guilt)

General Effects of Childhood Trauma

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‘Trauma-informed educators recognize students’ actions are a direct result of their life experiences. When their students act out or disengage, they don’t ask them, “What is wrong with you?” but rather, “What happened to you?” (HUANG ET AL., 2014)

Understanding trauma is not just about acquiring knowledge… it's about changing the way you view the world.

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"There is no more effective neurobiological intervention than a safe relationship"

Bruce Perry, PhD, MD

Researcher & Child Psychiatrist

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Reframing Behaviour with a Trauma Perspective

Intentional Fostering of Relationships

The thoughtful and intentional fostering of relationships is one way educators can support students living with trauma. Healthy development following a history of adverse experiences depends of the quality and reliability of a student’s relationships with the important people in their lives. Students are supported by having high expectations, predictable routines and defined boundaries. These simple consistencies can give students the comfort, predictability and safety they may lack elsewhere.

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Reframing Behaviour with a Trauma Perspective

Intentional Fostering of Relationships

In attempting to develop relations with students with a trauma background you may encounter tension and resistance. These relationships are complex, take time and are often influenced by other elements.

Do not stop trying with students who seem to not reciprocate your intentional interactions. They will take different amounts of time to know and each has a different trust threshold.

Be aware of all you interactions, not just the ones with the student. They will take notice your interactions with other students, staff and parents.

Do not wait to observe negative behaviour from the student before intentionally interacting with them. Avoid your first interactions immediately after these moments

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Key Considerations

Mental Distress Verses Mental Disorder

We often look for pathology by associating the terrible things that people endure with the inevitability of being mentally ill . . . but there is a difference between distress and disorder. There are many stressors that accompany immigrating to a new country, which may in turn, cause mental distress. These are normal responses to very stressful situations. In reality, most refugees and immigrants, will not develop a diagnosed mental health problem.

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Key Considerations

Social Determinants Mental Health

The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. Evidence shows that refugees are more likely than the NL-born population to experience disparities in the social determinants of health that result in poorer health outcomes. Post-migration is identified as the most important time which affects the mental health of refugees. It is important to acknowledge the impacts of social determinants and to inquire about housing, income, employment, education and experiences of racism and discrimination.

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Key Considerations

Not A One-size-fits-all Approach

Immigrants and refugees are diverse populations and their rates of mental health problems vary consistently between and within these groups. They differ based on gender, race, country of origin, age at arrival, length of time in NL, socioeconomic status, immigration status and circumstances surrounding migration (MHCC, 2016). As these groups are not homogeneous, a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health care should not be employed.

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Reframing Behaviour with a Trauma Perspective

With A Label With a Trauma Perspective

Manipulative Protective/Survival Mode

Lazy Overwhelmed

Oppositional Mistrustful

Unmotivated Depressed

Disrespectful Threatened/Lack of Control

Attention Seeking Desperate for Connection

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01

02

03

04

A safe environment

A predictable routine

Unconditional positive regard & empathy

Clear expectations, boundaries and consequences.

TO

FEEL SAFE,

STUDENTS

with a TRAUMA EXPERIENCE

NEED . . .

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THANKS!