Trauma-Informed Compassionate Classrooms

CPD

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Speaker

Sarah Kirk Stephens, PhD Related seminars and products

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Dr. Sarah Kirk Stephens, is a national board-certified counselor and the owner and CEO of Yoga 4 Classrooms. Sarah provides training and consultation on a variety of topics, including comprehensive school counseling, trauma-informed practices, tiered supports for students, and mindfulness in schools. She has presented at local and national conferences across the United States. Previously, she was the school counselor specialist at the Oklahoma State Department of Education for three years, where she created an ASCA-aligned statewide comprehensive school counseling framework. She was a school counselor specialist at the Oklahoma State Department of Education for three years, where she created an ASCA-aligned statewide comprehensive school counseling framework. She was a school counselor and school counseling leader for over a decade. Sarah served on the Board of Directors for ASCA until 2022. In 2019, her school counseling program became a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP). Sarah was Oklahoma’s 2018 School Counselor of the Year and a 2019 National School Counselor of the Year finalist. Sarah is an advocate for the professional and is passionate about equity and access to whole-child support for all students.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sarah Kirk Stephens is the owner and CEO of Yoga 4 Classrooms, LLC and has employment relationships with the American School Counselor Association, Austin Peay State University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and Cameron University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sarah Kirk Stephens is a member of the American School Counselor Association and the Oklahoma School Counseling Association.

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Objectives

1. Analyze the ways in which poverty and mental health contribute to trauma responses thus informing your approach to working with all students.
2. Determine how trauma impacts a child’s development and develop strategies for meeting his or her needs.
3. Explore how exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) determines the likelihood of developmental trauma and its impact on level of functioning across the lifespan.
4. Establish a collaborative approach to discipline and demonstrate how this fosters intrinsic motivation for behaviour change in the child.
5. Practice techniques to establish positive relationships and build trust with hard-to-reach students thus increasing their social and academic success.
6. Explore mindfulness activities that foster student self-awareness, self-regulation and the ability to focus as it relates to impulsive behaviours and attention.

Outline

Trauma in Students: What to Look For

• Fight, flight or freeze responses: How it manifests in school
• Wired for fear: Impact on the whole child
• ACEs – Adverse Childhood Experiences study and survey
• The role of poverty and mental health challenges

Trauma Therapy

• Benefits
• Limitations of the Research
• Potential Risks

Discipline in a Trauma-Informed Classroom

• Changing your mindset: Punitive vs. collaborative
• Strategies to foster intrinsic motivation
• 3 steps to implement a collaborative approach
• Case study: How you respond

Neuroplasticity: Activities to Establish & Strengthen Neural Pathways

• Strategies to develop new ways of responding
  • Slow down, stop and think
  • Respond rather than react
  • Social stories
• Techniques to incorporate the 4 R’s:
  • Rhythmic
  • Repetitive
  • Relational
  • Rewarding

Relationships as a Protective Factor

• Techniques to form positive relationships and increase students’ likeliness to:
  • Stay in school longer
  • Work harder
  • Increase test scores & grades
  • Increase their self-confidence
• Techniques to help students feel connected to school making them less likely to:
  • Smoke or drink
  • Have sexual intercourse
  • Develop emotional problems
  • Experience suicidal thoughts or attempts
  • Carry weapons
  • Be involved in violence or dangerous activities
• Case study: Strengths-based, solution-focused approach

Mindfulness and Self-Awareness Activities To:

• Help with transitions
• Reduce impulsive behaviours
• Strengthen empathy, kindness and compassion
• Calm and focus attention

Social and Emotional Learning Techniques to Increase:

• Focus and concentration
• Impulse control
• Conflict resolution skills

Mindful Communication Tools to Improve Student Engagement

• Lead with presence
• Attention
• Intention

Mindful Strategies to Increase Connection, Empathy & Community

• Gratitude
• Heartfulness

Zones of Regulation to Teach Self-Awareness & Emotional Control

• Red zone
• Yellow zone
• Green zone
• Blue zone

Target Audience

• General Educators
• Special Educators
• School Administrators
• School Psychologists
• Social Workers
• Guidance Counsellors
• School Nurses
• Directors of Special Education
• Paraprofessionals
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Occupational Therapists