School Social Workers' Views About Trauma and Mental Health During COVID-19

• In Event: Social and Emotional Learning During the Pandemic

Abstract

This study explored school social workers’ (SSWs) views about trauma and student and staff mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data came from written responses to open-ended questions on a national survey of SSWs in June/July 2020. Analysis began with a literature-informed conceptual model for a trauma-informed school. Emergent themes included recognition of COVID-19 and 2020 social unrest as potentially traumatic experiences; the need for a trauma-informed school response; the challenges of simultaneously addressing all facets of safety; and the essentiality and difficulty of maintaining school-based relationships during remote learning. Results demonstrated SSWs inherently understood key components of a trauma-informed approach and were trying to implement it. Successful implementation will require cross-disciplinary collaboration and an organization-wide response.

Authors

• Kate R Watson, University of California - Los Angeles

• Gordon Capp, California State University - Fullerton

• Ron Avi Astor, University of California - Los Angeles

• Michael S. Kelly, Loyola University Chicago

• Rami Benbenishty, Hebrew University of Jerusalem