From “What’s Wrong with You?” to “What Happened to You?” Trauma-Informed Care Training and Implementation Experiences of School Personnel
Psouni, Elia LU
; Andersson, Claudia
; Storm, Sally
and Hamad, Hussein
LU
(2025)
In School Mental Health
17(3).
p.861-874
- Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can influence physical, cognitive and social development, impacting life outcomes including the child’s capacity to learn and become socially integrated. While steady relations to reliable, understanding adults may enhance child resilience and mitigate long-term effects on well-being, the difficulties of children with ACEs pose a challenge for school personnel. Psychoeducational trauma-informed care (TIC) interventions at school may strengthen teacher preparation and buffer the deleterious outcomes of ACEs, but the evidence base for these interventions is limited. Thus, the current study qualitatively acquired school personnel’s (N = 48) experiences and reflections on a TIC... (More)
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can influence physical, cognitive and social development, impacting life outcomes including the child’s capacity to learn and become socially integrated. While steady relations to reliable, understanding adults may enhance child resilience and mitigate long-term effects on well-being, the difficulties of children with ACEs pose a challenge for school personnel. Psychoeducational trauma-informed care (TIC) interventions at school may strengthen teacher preparation and buffer the deleterious outcomes of ACEs, but the evidence base for these interventions is limited. Thus, the current study qualitatively acquired school personnel’s (N = 48) experiences and reflections on a TIC training-and-implementation intervention, and its day-to-day utility in a school context. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes, labeled “knowledge that transformed perceptions”, “the resource that makes a difference”, and “the spectrum of capacity”. Knowledge gains, changed practices, and motivation boosts were discussed, along with mixed attitudes toward TIC applicability, frustration from having limited information regarding individual students’ circumstances, and a need of more follow-up support to practicing TIC. Importantly, our analysis revealed several challenges to implementation, attributed mainly to organizational and structural factors, including conflicting tasks and goals, time pressure, lack of prioritization, and compassion fatigue. Thus, along with what seems to be much needed organizational adjustments and prioritizations, supporting a sense of agency in school personnel appears central for TIC implementation. Future research should explore individual beliefs about mechanisms of change and long-term outcomes of the training program, for teachers and children.
(Less)
- author
- Psouni, Elia
LU
; Andersson, Claudia
; Storm, Sally
and Hamad, Hussein
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-09
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Childhood adversity, Implementation, Mental health, School personnel, Trauma, Trauma-informed care
- in
- School Mental Health
- volume
- 17
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 14 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105007535268
- ISSN
- 1866-2625
- DOI
- 10.1007/s12310-025-09769-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.
- id
- 4bba6a8b-cbe3-4a7c-89b9-295a9089b00c
- date added to LUP
- 2025-12-22 10:23:11
- date last changed
- 2025-12-22 10:24:18
@article{4bba6a8b-cbe3-4a7c-89b9-295a9089b00c,
abstract = {{<p>Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can influence physical, cognitive and social development, impacting life outcomes including the child’s capacity to learn and become socially integrated. While steady relations to reliable, understanding adults may enhance child resilience and mitigate long-term effects on well-being, the difficulties of children with ACEs pose a challenge for school personnel. Psychoeducational trauma-informed care (TIC) interventions at school may strengthen teacher preparation and buffer the deleterious outcomes of ACEs, but the evidence base for these interventions is limited. Thus, the current study qualitatively acquired school personnel’s (N = 48) experiences and reflections on a TIC training-and-implementation intervention, and its day-to-day utility in a school context. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes, labeled “knowledge that transformed perceptions”, “the resource that makes a difference”, and “the spectrum of capacity”. Knowledge gains, changed practices, and motivation boosts were discussed, along with mixed attitudes toward TIC applicability, frustration from having limited information regarding individual students’ circumstances, and a need of more follow-up support to practicing TIC. Importantly, our analysis revealed several challenges to implementation, attributed mainly to organizational and structural factors, including conflicting tasks and goals, time pressure, lack of prioritization, and compassion fatigue. Thus, along with what seems to be much needed organizational adjustments and prioritizations, supporting a sense of agency in school personnel appears central for TIC implementation. Future research should explore individual beliefs about mechanisms of change and long-term outcomes of the training program, for teachers and children.</p>}},
author = {{Psouni, Elia and Andersson, Claudia and Storm, Sally and Hamad, Hussein}},
issn = {{1866-2625}},
keywords = {{Childhood adversity; Implementation; Mental health; School personnel; Trauma; Trauma-informed care}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{861--874}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{School Mental Health}},
title = {{From “What’s Wrong with You?” to “What Happened to You?” Trauma-Informed Care Training and Implementation Experiences of School Personnel}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12310-025-09769-8}},
doi = {{10.1007/s12310-025-09769-8}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2025}},
}