If we want to impact the world of children who have experienced trauma then we must change not only ourselves and our classroom, but we must change our schools, our organisations, and our systems of care for children. We must all speak out for these children who have no voice to bring awareness of new educational and mental health approaches to children who will become tomorrow’s failed adults unless they receive our understanding and our help.

For whatever reason you have been attracted to this book, you have come to the right place. You may at times put it down and wonder if the challenge is too great, but trust me it is not. If you stay engaged with this book and with a child who has experienced trauma then you will learn new understandings, new ideas and new ways to reach the mind, the heart and the soul of young people who need our support and our love.

If we want to impact the world of children who have experienced trauma then we must change not only ourselves and our classroom, but we must change our schools, our organisations, and our systems of care for children. We must all speak out for these children who have no voice to bring awareness of new educational and mental health approaches to children who will become tomorrow’s failed adults unless they receive our understanding and our help.

For whatever reason you have been attracted to this book, you have come to the right place. You may at times put it down and wonder if the challenge is too great, but trust me it is not. If you stay engaged with this book and with a child who has experienced trauma then you will learn new understandings, new ideas and new ways to reach the mind, the heart and the soul of young people who need our support and our love.

Table of Contents
I. Understand and empathise
II. Observe and reflect
III. Prevent and contain
IV. Connect and validate
V. Teach and reinforce
VI. Survive and thrive

This text assists educators in the development of trauma-informed competencies required to transition to a trauma-informed educational environment. The principles informing Trauma-Informed School Practices (TISP) are detailed in Section I, “Foundational Principles.” It begins with an overview of the struggles facing students and educators, grounded in the reality that many students experience unmitigated stress and trauma, and this has undermined their ability to be successful in the school environment. To understand this link between trauma and school functioning, we revisit factors contributing to healthy development and resilience. We then explore how unmitigated stress and trauma can overwhelm coping resources and undermine our capacity to function. This includes explaining the concept of integrated neural functioning, as the heart of trauma-informed care is understanding the neurological impact of consistent attunement and mentoring versus unmitigated stress and trauma. This section concludes with an in-depth presentation of the Trauma-Informed School Practices Tri-Phasic Model, detailing the trauma-informed competencies needed to transform an educational system.