Session 1. Anxiety, Trauma, Stress and Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Self-Management [1 hour/7 minutes]
Contents and Brief Description
- Introductions
- Defining and Discussing Self-Management
- The Differences between Anxiety, Trauma, and Stress
- Why We Want Stress-Sensitive and Informed Schools
Session 1 provides an introduction to this course which focuses on teaching students how to manage their emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the context of stress, anxiety, and trauma. We initially discuss how students’ emotional control (or self-regulation) helps them handle the stresses in their school and out-of-school lives, and how these stresses impact the ultimate goals of education: To facilitate the academic and social, emotional, and behavioral learning, progress, and self-management of all students.
We emphasize that social, emotional, and behavioral self-management is the goal of an organized preschool through high school Health, Mental Health, and Wellness (or SEL) district/school initiative. We define “self-management,” and explain how it relates to students’ social, emotional, and behavioral interactions through their interpersonal, social problem-solving, conflict prevention and resolution, and emotional control, communication, and coping skills.
With so much focus on student trauma (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic), we then differentiate between the clinical, psychological entities of anxiety, stress, and trauma. We critically note that trauma occurs under very specific circumstances with many significant and long-term effects, and that many more students experience different stress than trauma. We conclude that schools and educators need to be Stress-Informed and Stress-Sensitive—implementing prevention and early response approaches in these areas first, and that they then can address the more specialized issues related to trauma as embedded in stress.
Feature Presentation
Handout
2 1 Stress Course Session 1 Handout 1 2021.pdf
Audio Only
Quiz
Quiz Answers
3 1 Session 1 Quiz Answers.pdf
Resources
Cantor, P. (2020). Stress and the brain. New York: Turnaround for Children.
4 1 1 Stress and the Brain Overview.pdf
Rosenzweig, J. M., Jivanjee, P., Brennan, E. M., Grover, L., & Abshire, A. (2017). Understanding neurobiology of psychological trauma: Tips for working with transition-age youth. Portland, OR: Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures, Portland State University.
4 1 2 Neurobiology of Trauma-tip-sheet.pdf
Eklund, K. & Rossen, E. (2016). Guidance for trauma screening in schools. Delmar, NY: The National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice.
4 1 3 Guidance for Trauma Screening in Schools NASP.pdf
Homework. Please read the following article in preparation for the next session:
August 8, 2020 Blog (Knoff, H.M.): “Why Stress-Informed Schools Must Precede Trauma-Informed Schools”
5 1 Homework Stress-Informed Schools Must Precede Trauma-Informed Schools.pdf