Trauma-informed care for therapists, teachers, and school leaders (with Rachel Archambault)

Those of us working in K-12 education interact with students and staff who have experienced trauma whether we’re aware of the specific events or not. 

A lot of people have heard the term “trauma-informed” care, but not everyone knows what it means or how to do it in practice.

That’s why I wanted to invite Rachel Archambault to episode 115 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about what trauma-informed care is and share how educators and therapists can put it into practice. 

Rachel Archambault, MA CCC-SLP is an SLP Program Specialist for Broward County Public Schools. After a traumatic event happened at her workplace on 2/14/18, she looked for ways to work with students (and herself) after trauma. She found trauma-informed care and has been presenting nationally to SLPs and other providers on how TIC can be used in their setting. She runs the Instagram account, @PTSD.SLP which discusses TIC from a speech lens.

In this conversation, she shares:

✅What exactly is trauma-informed care and how can those working in the schools provide a supportive environment for students? 

✅What school leaders need to know about being trauma-informed (and why it’s not just about the students). 

✅How to avoid re-traumatization, including the way you use language or other common triggers to be aware of.

✅Mistakes people make (even though they’re well-intended) and how you can build trust with students and colleagues who have experienced trauma.

You can connect with Rachel on her Instagram account here, her Facebook page here, and on LinkedIn here.  Her website (coming soon) is at ptsdslp.com.

In this episode, I mentioned my free online training for K-12 therapists who want to offer social and academic support that’s evidence-based and neurodiversity-affirming. You can sign up for that free training here.

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