questions by James A. Baumann
Compassion, empathy, and an encouraging nature are traits often associated with student affairs and campus housing professionals. Those qualities, however, can be more formalized – and more impactful – when they are incorporated into official policies and operations. Such is the nature of trauma-informed approaches. While trauma-informed care originated in the 1970s in the medical and social work fields, the practice has evolved and has been incorporated into an increasing number of areas where individuals may have experienced a variety of traumas.
In this column we hear from professionals who have worked to implement trauma-informed approaches on a variety of different campuses. Our conversationalists are Amanda Knerr, associate vice president for student affairs at Ball State University; Katie Noah, an area coordinator at the University of Cincinnati; and Tiffany Bromfield, associate director for residence life and inclusion at SUNY Buffalo State.
Amanda Knerr: I would say a trauma-informed approach is really looking at the whole situation and the whole person. What you see right before you is such a small piece of a situation. Using a trauma-informed approach means pausing assumptions, extending grace, and digging deeper through observations, active listening, and exploration to really understand the context in all its complexity that is now in front of you. For me, when working with students and the team, it’s about reminding myself to always assume good intentions when a person is showing up differently than what you expect from them.
Katie Noah: In order to best support our students and truly meet them where they are, we need to do so in a holistic manner: meaning, you are not just caring for the adult student you see standing before you but are also dealing with and treating all of that person's lived experiences that shape the way they navigate your particular campus. Their needs are unique and specific to the situations they lived through, so our solutions to meet those needs should be just as unique and specific in problem solving.
Tiffany Bromfield: As educators in this field, we do our best to focus on the holistic development of students. Positional power and access plays a role, but a lot of how we try to support students is based on their needs with an account of what the student discloses to us over time. Speaking in a time of COVID-19 response and the display of systematic oppression in the news and other media, we as professionals can acknowledge that many of our students are arriving on campus with at least one shared experience. The biggest piece of the trauma-informed approach is understanding what trauma is and acknowledging that for our students and staff. When evaluating the work we do in campus housing, we apply several aspects of trauma-informed care, speaking specifically about safety and peer support.
Knerr: I like to use a model described by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk, authors of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others, which includes “creating space for inquiry, choosing our focus, building compassion and community, finding balance, [and] a daily practice of centering” oneself. It also involves asking myself and others, “Why am I doing what I’m doing? Is it working for me?” It means practicing gratitude and encouraging my team and my students to find life outside of the work we are doing and to consistently remind myself and my team that student affairs is the work that I do – it is not WHO I am. It means practicing and extending compassion and grace to myself and to those I encounter. It means focusing on what is important and allowing myself to have a Plan B and being okay pursuing a Plan B. Practicing a trauma-informed approach means that I am actively engaging in these strategies myself and that I am using them to guide my team and the students with whom I work.
Noah: At the micro level, normalize the language. Don't wait for a student to express a need to address a concern. If I am hosting a presentation, I start out by introducing myself, indicating where the exits are, letting them know it is fine to get up and take a break, and stating that I will be the last person to leave the room. Doing this ensures that they always know they have an exit strategy, they won't get in trouble for using it, and I will be available as a resource if needed. By doing this, I establish all of those resources without requiring any student to express a need to me. Additionally, think about physical space; if you're in an auditorium, do students have a way out? If you are requiring or asking for name tags at an event, have you clearly expressed that it is okay to use a nickname? In my opinion, the main point of a micro-level approach is to anticipate needs and accommodate them before a student even expresses a need.
Knerr: Provide formalized structures for inquiry and reflection. Provide regular formalized debriefing after exposure to triggers and trauma. This means providing training in strategies on how to cope with triggering incidents at work. It also means setting boundaries as a supervisor; you do not have to be everything to those you supervise. We need to be realistic about what the role of a supervisor is and is not and get our team connected to resources that are not related to supervision. At the same time, we need to provide opportunities for our team to ask questions, explore, and process their emotions in a healthy manner. For our students, it is helping them understand the need for real breaks: to reflect; to connect with nature, faith, spirituality, or wellness; to sleep; to meditate; and to gain perspective.
Bromfield: I think the first step is evaluating what the culture of the department is like when handling student and staff setbacks: Are folks encouraged to take off as necessary? Are we acknowledging students by name when we have an issue? Are we saying hello to students that we pass throughout the day or who pass through our building lobbies? Acknowledging trauma starts with naming feelings and listening to folks explain their feelings without trying to offer a solution unless they ask for one. It’s about learning that intention does not mitigate impact; many of the programs, initiatives, and trainings unintentionally cause harm to both student and professional staff. Take the training exercise Behind Closed Doors, for example, which is a necessary evil as it’s the only way our staff learn how to walk through situations, but at what costs?
Knerr: A macro approach is encouraging engagement outside of work. We need to provide opportunities, particularly for new professionals, to find connections outside the campus community. This might mean connecting them with a Young Leader’s organization or other philanthropic organizations. It might mean including community resources during onboarding for health and wellness initiatives, faith and spiritual development, volunteer opportunities, and opportunities to connect with nature. It also means actively providing opportunities for the team to debrief after trauma exposure in both formal and informal ways such as immediately after a sudden student tragedy, act of injustice, or major life event. It means providing opportunities for team members and students to explore a Plan B and providing regular encouragement and support that it is okay to pursue what they are passionate about – even if it isn’t this. It is also about creating spaces for students and the team to reflect, do deep work, and get out of the hustle of constant electronic communications and hurriedness and into a space where there is quiet, peace, and reflection.
Noah: The main way to approach the macro level is to put the power back in their court and allow the student to navigate their comfort level. An example would be that I ask any student I meet with, whether I am aware of specific past trauma or not, if they would like the office door closed or prefer it open. Sometimes, even that decision can be anxiety producing, so I usually phrase it as "You are welcome to close the door at any point if you are more comfortable in a private setting." I also think about the physical space: Are the chairs students would sit in easily accessible to the exit or do they require the student to have their back to the exit? A few main things that are always helpful in one-on-one settings are making sure the student can always see and access the exit and giving them the power to choose as much as possible. Example: Would you like to meet in my office or somewhere on campus?
Noah: Clear exit strategies are important. Think about auditorium-style seats: Are you requiring the audience to sit all together towards the front? While that may help some students hold attention better, it may make it very scary for other students who need to sit on or near an aisle to feel safe. Other considerations include knowing if there is going to be some sort of loud noise or flashing light in an event or presentation, so that you can give your audience that heads up before it begins. If you have large groups gathering, it can be helpful to have a predetermined space available for students to retreat to if they need a break. Often when I am doing auditorium-style programs, I will reserve a classroom down the hall and have that place known to my audience. I then put water in the room, turn the lights down if I can, and have some coloring sheets in there, as well as any other small items that may help someone relieve anxiety.
Knerr: I tend to put visual cues in my office space to remind me to gain perspective. I keep my gratitude journal right next to my laptop so that I can take a few minutes to review old entries or add new entries. For our communities, I think it is important to set up environments that create safe spaces. That means including pictures or flags or statements that support all students. That means creating places for both engagement with others and quiet contemplation and reflection.
Bromfield: Evaluate the language within some policies, particularly in terms of conduct and accountability with student staff. We are currently in a time when marijuana is legal in several states but is still illegal on campus. How does that work? How are campus housing professionals holding students accountable for their actions without being punitive? Many of our student handbooks use language that can elicit trauma responses. Campuses should also evaluate the emergency response procedures and protocol. How often are the police being called for things that can possibly be handled by a counselor or professional staff on call? The police even being present in response to situations can be traumatic for some students and staff.
Noah: Language is huge here. When thinking about student conduct, a lot of the terminology used is very legal-sounding. Example: charges and sanctions. That language can be triggering for students. Consider alternatives that mean the same thing but carry a connotation of care and support that is not judicial. Similarly, consider policy and procedure. Think through any way you can proactively help eliminate anxiety-producing situations for students. For example, when RAs are on call, are they easily identifiable as a resource?
Knerr: For me, it is making sure that my team knows they are never in it alone. If they feel like they need help, they can always call me. I give my entire team – including all my student staff – my cell phone number so that they truly understand they never need to handle a situation alone.
We have been re-evaluating our duty protocols to see if we can tweak when we call the police, knowing that many of our students come from communities that do not have positive relationships with the police. We are working to provide better training about supervision, particularly identity-conscious supervision. I think we also need to create policies and protocols around pre-planned, required debriefing after major incidents when our team are the first responders to trauma. I think we need to do a better job of normalizing the trauma exposure and training on how to best work through that trauma so that we are handling the situation and not taking the burden on ourselves.
Noah: This all comes down to relationships. Students will likely not have the language to know they are asking for trauma-informed care support, but they will turn to whoever they feel most safe or comfortable with. It is imperative that campuses are using trauma-informed approaches to build these relationships. For example, RA programs in the halls: Are they making these programs inclusive of trauma-informed approaches? If so, this will greatly enhance the likelihood of those students coming to the program.
Bromfield: We now have a senior class of college students who have spent more time attending college virtually than they were physically on campus, so they may be returning to campus with additional challenges that they will likely need support for. Campus housing staff can be proactive in reaching out to students before accountability conversations have to happen so that they can build a rapport and help students feel safe and cared for on the campus.
Knerr: I’m not sure we have to use that language. I think that we have lost the art of building one-to-one relationships and having one-to-one conversations with students. It is so much easier to send a text than go to their door or to send an email instead of inviting them to coffee. But the methods of mass or virtual communication, though easier, have alienated a whole generation of students from each other and from the team that is there to help. We don’t typically ask for help or approach a stranger in a crisis. We go to people we know and trust.
One of the best things we can do is to focus our energies on helping our student staff teams relearn the art of conversation and relationship building. We also need to role-model what that looks like with our students, our student staff, and with each other. Rather than shooting off yet another email, maybe I should pick up the phone and chat for a minute before I get to business. Maybe I should ask how people are doing and stop to genuinely listen. Maybe I need to be vulnerable and be okay admitting to my team that I’m working through something that is distracting me from my work. These are strategies that can help our students and our teams feel safe asking for assistance.
Bromfield: Acknowledge the trauma we have all experienced. Give staff time off without inquiring about what they are going to do. Empower them to work independently and return to their “whys.” Recognize that they are burned out and evaluate how the organization you’re running has contributed to that. We are all exhausted from constant crisis response. How do we re-evaluate the system to better support the staffs’ and students’ return to a slight bit more normalcy?
Noah: Acknowledging the trauma for what it is – trauma – gives power to the situation we all just lived and are still living through. Applying language to the situation also allows staff a better framework to advocate for themselves. Also, don't wait for staff to ask for support. What practices do you have to support staff? For example, if someone responds to a heavy-duty situation, is there a policy or expectation that someone checks on them or maybe covers their duty for a period of time? Finally, make any and all employee resources easily accessible and normalize sending them out. Do your employees know where they can access counseling services? Is it standard practice to send that resource to your department on a regular basis? Perhaps it can be part of a monthly department newsletter or update email.
Knerr: I think that, first of all, this approach allows our team to be okay not being okay all the time. It gives them permission to acknowledge that they are facing trauma and are exhausted. It allows them to go back and reflect on their “why” and to refocus their passion and energies on what they love about the work or explore and be okay pursuing a Plan B. Role-model for your team how to take care of themselves by meditating, sleeping, eating well, exercising, taking a break when needed, and prioritizing things outside of work. This sets us all up to work through and handle the trauma fatigue that we are all facing in healthy ways.
James A. Baumann is the director of publications for ACUHO-I.
