Attending to Trauma and Mental Health During Re-Entry
An important way to buffer stress for educators is to make sure you have plans for referrals and expert support for evaluations of students who are struggling more than others.
We encourage you to work closely with mental health experts in your community to determine what course of action is appropriate for your context. CEI is here to facilitate your efforts; we always emphasize the necessity to seek additional expertise in the field of mental health.
Address the potential for increased trauma and/or mental health needs
- This moment is profoundly difficult for many. We should expect students and staff to return to learning with feelings and behaviors related to stress, anxiety, grief, and trauma.
Assess the wellness needs of students, staff and families
- Consider using a self-assessment tool for educators to determine their support of student well-being.
- Consider using a self-assessment tool for educators to determine their own resilience and self-care strategies.
- Consider using the Educator Context and Stress Spectrum, which was designed to support teachers and principals in gaining a greater awareness of how their current personal and professional context affects their levels of stress in the time of COVID-19. Although contexts may change from day to day, using this tool carefully can lead to greater appreciation for the challenges at hand and, ideally, can lead to beneficial self-care strategies.
Adopt strategies to create a supportive learning environment
- Incorporate trauma responsive practices into schools and classrooms, regardless of virtual or in-person learning is taking place.
- Become more trauma aware/sensitive/responsive to better understand students and to help identify signs that students may need more intensive supports.
- Focus on teaching, practicing, and acknowledging expected behaviors with the understanding that some students may need additional teaching, practice, and acknowledgement to use them.
- Model desired behaviors and co-regulate with students to bring them into a calm state.
- Prepare for remote school counseling and set your counseling staff up for success.
