Trauma Informed Approaches (TIA) in Higher Education
Posted by anne.grey
Presenters: Lisa Aasheim, Hannah Martin, and Emily Somervell
Summary
Trauma-Informed Approaches (TIA) offer essential strategies for higher education professionals dedicated to supporting student well-being and academic achievement. Adapted from Trauma Informed Oregon training materials, this session introduces a core framework for engagement: Regulate, Relate, and Reason. This approach highlights that students must feel emotionally regulated and personally connected before they can process complex ideas, reason effectively, or engage in academic problem-solving.
The presentation broadens the conventional view of trauma to include accumulated stress, historical trauma, systemic oppression, and community-wide events. By examining the neurobiology of stress, presenters demonstrate how survival responses—such as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn—can alter executive functioning, short-term memory, focus, and sensory processing in the classroom. To address these challenges, educators explore the Six Principles of Trauma-Informed Approaches: Safety, Trustworthiness & Transparency, Peer Support, Collaboration & Mutuality, Empowerment/Voice & Choice, and Cultural Responsiveness. Practical frameworks like the Window of Tolerance and the RAIN self-compassion model provide actionable methods to foster regulation and healing across campus.
View Trauma Informed Approaches (TIA) Presentation Slides
Presentation Outcomes
- Apply Core Engagement Steps: Integrate the sequential steps of Regulate, Relate, and Reason into classroom routines and student interactions.
- Expand the Lens of Trauma: Recognize how chronic stress, historical trauma, systemic barriers, and community events influence student engagement.
- Identify Neurobiological Impacts: Understand how trauma and chronic stress affect executive brain functions, memory retention, attention, and sensory sensitivity.
- Implement TIA Principles: Incorporate safety, transparency, peer support, mutuality, student choice, and cultural responsiveness into instructional policies and practices.
- Utilize Self-Regulation Frameworks: Apply practical tools, including the Window of Tolerance and RAIN model, to support emotional regulation for students and staff.
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