Trauma-Informed Higher Education: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Trauma-informed higher education (TIHE) refers to an approach that acknowledges the widespread impact of trauma on students, faculty, and staff and seeks to create learning environments that are safe, supportive, and empowering.  Recognizing and naming how trauma and adversity impact the adult learner generates a critical brain-based perspective and lens through which the college builds upon skills of resilience to orient pedagogy, support services, and holistic institutional practices, encouraging academic access and success for all students. TIHE involves integrating knowledge about trauma and resilience into policies, procedures, pedagogy, and campus culture. It emphasizes safety, trust, empowerment, and equity—especially important in the diverse, open-access environments of community colleges.

Trauma-informed higher education (TIHE) is not a clinical or diagnostic intervention: faculty and staff are not diagnosing students, classrooms are not sites for group therapy, and students are not patients.  This common misperception evolves from trauma’s primary historical location in clinical and therapeutic fields, and while counseling and therapeutic services are key supports on college campuses, trauma-informed educational practices are not diagnostic or treatment modalities.

Many students and staff may have experienced trauma that affects their ability to learn, teach, or engage. Trauma-informed practices help reduce re-traumatization, promote resilience and mental well-being, and contribute to equity and inclusion by addressing systemic and interpersonal harm.

Community colleges in particular serve a wide range of students, many of whom face significant stressors, such as:

• First-generation college experiences
• Economic hardship including food, housing, and transportation insecurity
• Balancing work, caregiving, and school
• Marginalization based on race, gender identity, disability, or other factors
• A history of gate-keeping and exclusionary practices embedded in institutions of higher education

Faculty and staff are often the most consistent points of contact, making their trauma-awareness vital.

• Missed classes or abrupt changes in attendance
• Difficulty concentrating or staying engaged
• Inconsistent academic performance
• Discomfort with authority figures or institutions
• Withdrawal or avoidance as a coping mechanism

Students may experience:

• Racial, gender, LGBTQ+, disability, or body-based discrimination that can occur both in the community as well as on campus
• Pre-college educational experiences of bullying
• Community violence
• War, displacement, or refugee experiences
• Pandemic-related stress and loss
• Housing, food, or transportation insecurity
• Sexual violence or harassment
• Childhood abuse or neglect

Trauma can impair concentration, memory, emotional regulation, and trust in others. Students may:

• Miss classes or assignments
• Seem withdrawn or hyper-vigilant
• Exhibit frustration, anxiety, or apathy
• Struggle with deadlines and executive functioning

Researchers such as Education Northwest describe how trauma-related behaviors can be misperceived as students not being serious or motivated, thus affecting possibilities for large numbers of students.

In your role as faculty or staff, you are not being asked to single-handedly solve personal crises nor systemic issues such as poverty and racism. Trauma-informed education is not therapy. Rather, it’s an educational framework that seeks to reduce harm, increase access, and support learning. Faculty and staff are not expected to be therapists but should recognize signs of trauma and respond with compassion and referrals when needed.

Being trauma-informed means staying within your professional role at the college and:

• Listening non-judgmentally
• Being patient and supportive
• Connecting students to counseling, financial aid, disability services, or basic needs resources
• Setting boundaries and practicing self-care

Self-care is a term that, like resilience and trauma, has been used so often and deployed so widely that it has been emptied of meaning. Further, it can often feel like yet another task that already overburdened professionals must undertake at their own expense.

Understanding what self-care means to you represents critical knowledge for your own well-being and for the work you do.  Correspondingly, institutions themselves can be allies in prioritizing self-care through simple practices such as creating 10-minute breaks between scheduled meeting times.

What if a student shares a traumatic experience with me?

• Listen, thank them, and avoid judgment
• Don’t ask for details or act as a therapist
• Share confidential support resources
• Let them know you care and that they are not alone
• Be aware of and follow any required reporting obligations (e.g., Title IX)

• Establish clear expectations and practices such as providing rubrics
• Establish consistent and predictable classroom structures to scaffold academic rigor
• Offer flexibility and choice when possible
• Build safety and trust through respectful and consistent communication including email
• Encourage reflective practices and peer support
• Provide content warnings for potentially triggering material
• Where appropriate, allow alternative ways to participate or demonstrate learning

• Awareness of the prevalence of trauma, adversity, violence and also resilience in any community
• Provide or attend ongoing trauma-awareness trainings and professional development
• Build inclusive syllabi and policies
• Refer students to appropriate campus resources
• Take care of their own well-being and set boundaries
• Ensure front-line staff (admissions, financial aid, advising) are trained in de-escalation and empathetic service
• Avoid re-traumatizing bureaucratic barriers (e.g., punitive deadlines or excessive documentation)
• Foster a campus culture of care, not compliance

1. Safety — Physical, emotional, and psychological safety
2. Trustworthiness and Transparency
3. Peer Support
4. Collaboration and Mutuality
5. Empowerment, Voice, and Choice
6. Cultural, Historical, and Gender Responsiveness

• Conduct campus-wide assessments
• Establish a trauma-informed task force
• Review and revise policies (e.g., discipline, attendance)
• Provide ongoing training for all staff and faculty
• Prioritize mental health and wellness infrastructure
• Trauma-informed approaches to campus safety and policing
• Include trauma-informed as a strategic priority
• Include trauma-informed as a desired qualification for hiring

What are examples of trauma-informed policies at the institutional level?

• Flexible attendance policies that account for crises
• Streamlined access to food pantries, mental health care, and emergency grants
• Investing in campus-based mental health professionals, case managers/community resource navigators
• Restorative justice approaches to student code of conduct, grade appeals, Satisfactory Academic Progress committees, Medical Leave policies
• Training for all employees—not just student services or counseling
• Input from students and marginalized communities in decision-making

Trauma-informed practices are equity practices. Many forms of trauma are rooted in systemic inequality—racism, poverty, ableism, and more. A trauma-informed lens helps identify and interrupt these patterns, making education more accessible and just for all students.

• Your campus’s counseling or wellness center
• Basic needs coordinators or equity offices
• Professional development from organizations like ACCT, AACC, or state community college boards
• Trauma-informed pedagogy books, workshops, and webinars tailored to community college faculty

Mission & Role: A U.S. federal agency (established 1992) focused on reducing mental health and substance abuse through research translation and accessible treatment.

• Trauma-Informed Care: SAMHSA defines this approach via six principles—safety, peer support, trustworthiness, collaboration, cultural responsiveness, and empowerment—and emphasizes avoiding re-traumatization and reducing seclusion/restraint.
• Key Tools & Publications:
  • TIP 57: Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services (2014) – a comprehensive manual for organizations.
  • Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach (2014) – outlines definitions, frameworks, six principles, and ten implementation domains.
  • Ongoing programs: Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care, National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI), Project ReCAST, and school-based trauma support initiatives.

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN): A nationwide consortium (since 2000) offering training, resources, and clinical tools for working with traumatized children and families.
• National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC): Funded by SAMHSA in 2005 to support cultural shifts in public mental health toward trauma-informed environments, training and technical assistance to reduce traumatization.

• Mental Health Counseling Services (free & confidential for enrolled students):
• Multiple counselors with credentials (MA, LMHC, LICSW), available at Wellesley, Framingham, Ashland campuses, and telehealth options
• Provides support for trauma, stress, anxiety, depression, substance use, identity exploration, relationships, etc.
• Crisis resources: 988, 741741, and statewide emergency mental health numbers

Student Development Team includes roles that support personal well-being and crisis response, including Dean of Students and Career & Case management staff. 
Learn more on their website: https://www.massbay.edu/counseling

• Trauma-Informed Pedagogy in Higher Education – Ernest Stromberg (2023)
  A practical guide for college instructors to create inclusive, trauma-aware learning environments.
• Trauma in Adult and Higher Education – Edited by Laura Lee Douglass, Aubry Threlkeld & Lisa Merriweather (2022)
  Essays exploring how trauma affects adult learners and how educators can support them.
• Trauma-Informed Pedagogies – Edited by Phyllis Thompson & Janice Carello (2022)
  A comprehensive guide for faculty on teaching through crisis, with strategies and tools for college settings.
• Trauma-Responsive Pedagogy – Arlène Elizabeth Casimir & Courtney N. Baker (2023)
  Focuses on healing-centered teaching approaches to build resilience and safety in the classroom.
• Teaching with Tenderness – Becky Thompson (2017)
  Emphasizes compassion and embodiment in the classroom, especially in emotionally charged subjects.
• Critical Trauma Studies – Edited by Monica Casper & Eric Wertheimer (2016)
  An academic exploration of trauma from multiple disciplines, useful for understanding its social impact.
• The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom – Patricia A. Jennings (2019)
  Offers tools for K–12 that are also adaptable to college settings, focused on student and teacher well-being.
• Mindfulness for Teachers – Patricia A. Jennings (2015)
  Guides educators in using mindfulness to manage stress and support trauma-informed teaching.
• An Archive of Feelings – Ann Cvetkovich (2003)
  A cultural perspective on trauma, memory, and healing, especially relevant for gender and queer studies.
• The Johns Hopkins Guide to Psychological First Aid – George S. Everly Jr. (2022)
  Practical guidance for responding to student trauma and crisis situations.