Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-s74w7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-10T17:28:49.843Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A review of school trauma-informed practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2020

Jenna Miller  and
Emily Berger Open the ORCID record for Emily Berger [Opens in a new window]
Jenna Miller
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Emily Berger*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Emily Berger, Email: emily.berger@monash.edu
Get access

Abstract

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia are especially vulnerable to traumatic and discriminatory experiences. However, limited literature and research has implemented and evaluated school-based interventions designed to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people to overcome their adversity and achieve their potential at school. This article reviews the literature and frameworks on school programs designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have experienced trauma. The key aspects of trauma-informed programs in schools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is explored and recommendations made for further research and greater acknowledgement of cultural and historical issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students when implementing culturally informed and trauma-informed practices in schools.

Keywords

AboriginalTorres Strait Islanderschooltrauma-informed practiceculture

Information

Type
Articles
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , July 2020 , pp. 39 - 46
Copyright
© Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Alisic, E. (2012). Teachers’ perspectives on providing support to children after trauma: A qualitative study. School Psychology Quarterly, 27, 51–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alisic, E., Bus, M., Dulack, W., Pennings, L., & Splinter, J. (2012). Teachers’ experiences supporting children after traumatic exposure. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25, 98–101.10.1002/jts.20709CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2015). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social survey, 2014–15. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4714.0Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2016). Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3238.0.55.001Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2018). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners characteristics. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0~2018~Main%20Features~Aboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20prisoner%20characteristics%20~13Google Scholar
Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF). (2018). Making space for learning: Trauma informed practice in schools. http://det.wa.edu.au/childprotection/detcms/inclusiveeducation/child-protection/public/files/making-space-for-learning---trauma-informed-practice-in-schools.enGoogle Scholar
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2017). National reports on schooling in Australia. https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia-20170de312404c94637ead88ff00003e0139.pdf?sfvrsn=0Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018). Children in care. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/children-careGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, C.L. (2008). The violence continuum: Australian Aboriginal male violence and generational post-traumatic stress [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Charles Darwin University. https://espace.cdu.edu.au/eserv/cdu:44891/Thesis_CDU_44891_Atkinson_C.pdfGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, J. (2013). Trauma-informed services and trauma-specific care for Indigenous Australian children. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/trauma-informed-services-and-trauma-specific-care-for-indigenous-australian-children/contents/table-of-contentsGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, J., Nelson, J., & Atkinson, C. (2010). Trauma, transgenerational transfer and effects on community wellbeing. In Prudie, N., Dudgeon, P., & Walker, R. (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (pp. 135–144). Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.Google Scholar
Atkinson, J., Nelson, J., Brooks, R., Atkinson, C., & Ryan, K. (2014). Addressing individual and community transgenerational trauma. Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice, 2, 289–307.Google Scholar
Bamblett, M., & Lewis, P. (2006). A vision for Koorie children and families: Embedding rights, embedding culture. Just Policy: A Journal of Australian Social Policy, 41, 42–46.Google Scholar
Bamblett, M., Long, M., Frederico, M., & Salamone, C. (2014). Building an Aboriginal cultural model of therapeutic residential care: The experience of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency. Children Australia, 39, 206–210.10.1017/cha.2014.28CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, E., Carroll, M., Maybery, D., & Harrison, D. (2018). Disaster impacts on students and staff from a specialist, trauma-informed Australian school. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 11, 521–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centre on the Developing Child. (2016). Toxic stress. Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/Google Scholar
Costa, D.A. (2017). Transforming traumatised children within NSW Department of Education schools: One school counsellor’s model for practise – REWIRE. Children Australia, 42, 113–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2018). Closing The Gap Prime Minister’s Report 2018. https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/reports/closing-the-gap-2018/sites/default/files/ctg-report-20183872.pdf?a=1Google Scholar
Cole, S., Greenwald O’Brien, J., & Gadd, M.G., Ristuccia, J., Wallace, D.L., & Gregory, M. (2005). Helping traumatized children learn: Supportive school environments for children traumatized by family violence. https://traumasensitiveschools.org/tlpi-publications/download-a-free-copy-of-helping-traumatized-children-learn/Google Scholar
Creative Spirits. (2018). Aboriginal suicide rates. https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/aboriginal-suicide-ratesGoogle Scholar
De Maio, J.A., Zubrick, S.R., Silburn, S.R., Lawrence, D.M., Mitrou, F.G., Dalby, R.B., Blair, E.M., Griffin, J., Milroy, H., & Cox, A. (2005). The Western Australian Aboriginal child health survey: Measuring the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and intergenerational effects of forced separation. Curtin University of Technology and Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. https://www.telethonkids.org.au/globalassets/media/documents/aboriginal-health/measuring_social_and_emotional_wellbeing.pdfGoogle Scholar
Dobia, B., & O’Rourke, V. (2011). Promoting the mental health and wellbeing of indigenous children in Australian primary schools. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brenda_Dobia/publication/262412310_Promoting_the_mental_health_and_wellbeing_of_Indigenous_children_in_Australian_primary_schools/links/540aa0880cf2df04e74928f1.pdfGoogle Scholar
Downey, L. (2007). Calmer classrooms: A guide to working with traumatised children. https://earlytraumagrief.anu.edu.au/files/calmer_classrooms.pdfGoogle Scholar
Duran, E., & Duran, B. (1995). Native American post-colonial psychology. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Franke, H.A. (2014). Toxic stress: Effects, prevention and treatment. Children, 1, 390–402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, M., & Fallot, R.D. (2001). Envisioning a trauma-informed service system: A vital paradigm shift. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 89, 3–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heim, C., & Binder, E.B. (2012). Current research trends in early life stress and depression: Review of human studies on sensitive periods, gene–environment interactions, and epigenetics. Experimental Neurology, 233, 102–111.10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.10.032CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herring, S., Spangaro, J., Lauw, M., & McNamara, L. (2013). The intersection of trauma, racism, and cultural competence in effective work with aboriginal people: Waiting for trust. Australian Social Work, 66, 104–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodas, G.R. (2006). Responding to childhood trauma: The promise and practice of trauma informed care. http://www.childrescuebill.org/VictimsOfAbuse/RespondingHodas.pdfGoogle Scholar
Hopper, E.K., Bassuk, E.L., & Olivet, J. (2010). Shelter from the storm: Trauma-informed care in homelessness services settings. The Open Health Services and Policy Journal, 3, 80–100.10.2174/1874924001003020080CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurt, H., Malmud, E., Brodsky, N.L., & Giannetta, J. (2001). Exposure to violence: Psychological and academic correlates in child witnesses. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 155, 1351–1356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, K., Cardoso, T.A., Fries, G.R., Branco, J.C., Silva, R.A., Kaue-Sant’Anna, M., Kapczinski, F., & Magalhaes, P.V.S. (2016). Childhood trauma, family history, and their association with mood disorders in early adulthood. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 134, 281–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaycox, L.H. (2003). Cognitive-behavioural intervention for trauma in schools. Sopris West. doi:10.7249/CB209CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaycox, L.H., Cohen, J.A., Mannarino, A.P., Walker, D.W., Langley, A.K., Gegenheimer, K.L., Scott, M., & Schonlau, M. (2010). Children’s mental health care following Hurricane Katrina: A field trial of trauma-focused psychotherapies. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 223–231.Google ScholarPubMed
Jaycox, L.H., Kataoka, S.H., Stein, B.D., Langley, A.K., & Wong, M. (2012). Cognitive behavioral intervention for trauma in schools. Journal of Applied School, Psychology, 28, 239–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaycox, L.H., Langley, A.K., Stein, B.D., Wong, M., Sharma, P., Scott, M., & Schonlau, M. (2009). Support for students exposed to trauma: A pilot study. School Mental Health, 1, 49–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaycox, L.H., Langley, A.K., & Hoover, S.A. (2018). Cognitive behavioural intervention for trauma in schools (CBITS). RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL272.htmlGoogle Scholar
Kataoka, S.H., Stein, B.D., Jaycox, L.H., Wong, M., Escudero, P., Tu, W., Zaragoza, C., & Fink, A. (2003). A school-based mental health program for traumatized Latino immigrant children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 311–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinniburgh, K., Blaustein, M., & Spinazzola, J. (2005). Attachment, self-regulation and competency: A comprehensive intervention framework for children with complex trauma. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 424–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ko, S.J., Ford, J.D., Kassam-Adams, N., Berkowitz, S.J., Wilson, C., Wong, M., Brymer, M.J., & Layne, C.M. (2008). Creating trauma-informed systems: Child welfare, education, first responders, health care, juvenile justice. Professional Psychology-Research and Practice, 39, 396–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Grande, M., Ski, C.F., Thompson, D.R., Scuffham, P., Kularatna, S., Jackson, A.C., & Brown, A. (2017). Social and emotional wellbeing assessment instruments for use with Indigenous Australians: A critical review. Social Science & Medicine, 187, 164–173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McInerney, M., & McKlindon, A. (2014). Unlocking the door to learning: Trauma-informed classrooms & transformational schools. –https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Trauma-Informed-in-Schools-Classrooms-FINAL-December2014–2.pdfGoogle Scholar
Memmott, P., Stacy, R., Chambers, C., & Keys, C. (2001). Violence in Indigenous communities: Full report. https://healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/key-resources/publications/5346/Google Scholar
Morgan, A., Pendergast, D., Brown, R., & Heck, D. (2014). The art of holding complexity: A contextual influence on educator identity and development in practice in a system of alternative ‘flexi’ schools. Reflective Practice, 15, 579–591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nadew, G.T. (2012). Exposure to traumatic events, prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse in Aboriginal communities. Rural and Remote Health, 12, 1667–1678.Google ScholarPubMed
Pech, J., McNevin, A., & Nelms, L. (2009). Young people with poor labour force attachment: A survey of concepts, data, and previous research. Retrieved from https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/afpc2009wagereview/research/youngpeoplewithpoorlabourforceattachmentasurveyofconceptsdataandpreviousresearchrep.pdfGoogle Scholar
Penman, R. (2006). The ‘growing up’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: literature review. https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/op15.pdfCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, D.L., & Daniels, M.L. (2016). Implementing trauma-informed practices in the school setting: A pilot study. School Mental Health, 8, 177–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rolfsnes, E.S., & Idsoe, T. (2011). School-based intervention programs for PTSD symptoms: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24, 155–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santiago, C.D., Raviv, T., & Jaycox, L.H. (2018). Creating healing school communities: School-based interventions for students exposed to trauma. Concise guides on trauma care series. American Psychiatric Association Books.10.1037/0000072-000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shonkoff, J.P., & Garner, A.S. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129, 232–246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
State of Victoria. (2014–2016). Royal Commission into Family Violence: Summary and recommendations. http://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Reports/Final/RCFV-Summary.pdfGoogle Scholar
Silburn, S., Zubrick, S., De Maio, J., Shepherd, C., Griffin, J., Mitrou, J., Dalby, R., Hayward, C., & Pearson, G. (2006). The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey: Strengthening the capacity of aboriginal children, families and communities. https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/43701Google Scholar
Stein, B.D., Jaycox, L.H., Kataoka, S.H., Wong, M., Tu, W., Elliott, M.N., & Fink, A. (2003). A mental health intervention for school children exposed to violence: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 290, 603–611.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevens, J.E. (2012). Trauma-sensitive schools are better schools. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trauma-sensitive-schools_b_1625924Google Scholar
Stokes, H., & Turnbull, M. (2016). Evaluation of the Berry Street Education Model: Trauma informed positive education enacted in mainstream schools. https://learning.berrystreet.org.au/sites/default/files/2018-05/Evaluation-of-the-Berry-Street-Education-Model.pdfGoogle Scholar
Streeck-Fischer, A., & Van der Kolk, B.A. (2000). Down will come baby, cradle and all: Diagnostic and therapeutic implications of chronic trauma on child development. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 903–918.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2014). SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. https://store.samhsa.gov/system/files/sma14-4884.pdfGoogle Scholar
Swan, P., & Raphael, B. (1995). Ways forward: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health policy. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service.Google Scholar
Terr, L.A. (1991). Childhood traumas: An outlook and overview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 10–20.Google Scholar
Van der Kolk, B.A. (2003). The neurobiology of childhood trauma and abuse. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 293–318.10.1016/S1056-4993(03)00003-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Kolk, B.A. (2005). Developmental trauma disorder: Toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 401–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Kolk, B.A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma. Penguin.Google Scholar
Veltman, M.W., & Browne, K.D. (2001). Three decades of child maltreatment research: Implications for the school years. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 2, 215–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walkley, M., & Cox, T.L. (2013). Building trauma-informed schools and communities. Children & Schools, 35, 123–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wegman, H.L., & Stetler, C. (2009). A meta-analytic review of the effects of childhood abuse on medical outcomes in adulthood. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71, 805–812.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zubrick, S.R., Silburn, S.R., Lawrence, D.M., Mitrou, F.G., Dalby, R.B., Blair, E. M, Griffin, J., Milroy, H., De Maio, J.A., Cox, A., & Li, J. (2005). The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey: The social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. Curtin University of Technology and the Telethon Institute for ChildHealth Research. https://api.research-repository.uwa.edu.au/portalfiles/portal/10057115/WAACHSVolume2.pdfGoogle Scholar