Schools across the US have had to make sudden and considerable changes to adapt to the challenges and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19. For many educators, this has meant transforming the way they teach and connect with students, learning new skills and technology platforms, and in some cases transitioning to a new working environment all while grappling with personal stressors about their own health and families. As some educators struggle to cope with both professional and personal challenges during this time, these struggles can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, or symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. The NCTSN has resources to help administrators support the well-being of educators and to help educators reduce the impact of stressors during this difficult time.
Self-Care for Educators
This tip sheet is a part of the Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators and offers tips for recognizing the signs of secondary traumatic stress and practicing self-care.
Secondary Traumatic Stress for Educators Webinar
Describes risk factors and signs of secondary traumatic stress in educators, as well as techniques for prevention and self-care.
Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for School Staff
Discusses how challenging financial circumstances may affect you, other school staff, students, and their families and provides specific ways to help.
Taking Care of Yourself
This tip sheet is a part of the Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators and includes information on working with traumatized children, and self-care tips for school staff who work with any child who has experienced trauma.
Trauma-Informed School Strategies During COVID-19
This fact sheet offers information on the physical and emotional well-being of staff and creating a trauma-informed learning environment, including strategies for dealing with stress/STS for educators and administrators during COVID-19. It includes guidance for identifying, assessing, addressing, and treating traumatic stress. This fact sheet also provides trauma education and awareness, partnerships with students and families, cultural responsiveness, emergency management and crisis response, and school discipline policies and practices.
Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) Field Operations Guide
This version of Psychological First Aid gives school administrators, educators, and staff practical assistance to meet immediate needs and concerns, reduce distress, and foster adaptive coping in the wake of a disaster or stressful event(s). The manual includes in-depth information about each of the eight core actions and accompanying handouts for administrators, school staff, educators, students, and parents and caregivers.
PFA-S: Provider Self-Care
This is a handout from Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) Field Operations Guide. This handout includes information for providers on stress reactions they may experience when providing support in the immediate aftermath of a crisis and ideas for self-care.
Psychological First Aid for Schools Webinar
Describes the fundamentals of Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S). This webinar offers information on how PFA-S helps to reduce the distress that school communities can experience after a disaster or violent event. It discusses the importance of working within the school structure and system; how the teachers, staff, and administrators can use PFA-S to prepare for and respond to a disaster or violent event; and how to support the school community as a whole, including working with students, staff, and families.
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This project was developed by the developed by the NCTSN Core Curriculum Task Force, and funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
