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recent Inside higher education The article reported an increase in the number of students reporting trauma histories at university counseling centers. In many cases, students who have experienced trauma require support from mental health professionals, but the reality is that counseling colleagues alone cannot do the job of supporting students who have experienced trauma. Rather, we must build campuses where faculty and staff also engage in dialogue to create environments and situations that create spaces for students who have experienced trauma to thrive and succeed on their own terms. We need a campus community committed to ongoing education about trauma and its trajectories in ways that can help both faculty and staff work trauma-informed.
When I present on trauma-informed practice in higher education, I usually reach a point in my presentation where someone shares that, if nothing else takes away from our time together, it should be: Get in the habit of asking yourself questions. , “What else will happen?” Of course, in reality, trauma-informed practice is much more complex and contextual than one simple question can provide. But if we as faculty and administrators are trying to do just one thing, this one simple question carries a lot of power for two specific reasons.
- Get into the habit of asking, “What else will happen?” Trauma has the potential to be present in interactions with students and colleagues. Imagining the possibility that trauma exists is an important starting point. Because the statistics on trauma are very clear and compelling. They told me that I had to assume that some people in any group I was in were affected by trauma. If we begin with the possibility of trauma in mind, we can begin to work not only by imagining what we would do if there was trauma, but also by imagining how we would operate knowing that trauma exists.
That is, during our interactions in higher education, whether meeting with students, planning events with colleagues, teaching courses, or attending conferences, it is very likely that trauma will present itself to someone somewhere. This does not mean that everyone has experienced trauma, or that every encounter we have has trauma beneath the surface. But leaving space for the possibility that it exists can reshape how we engage with and understand our interactions.
Get into the habit of asking yourself, “What else will happen?” As Alex Shevrin Venet said, we are not trying to turn ourselves into trauma detectives. Rather, it is about holding space to see that sometimes what appears to us is not the whole story. Sometimes the entire story hints at trauma in a way that makes the interaction much more meaningful.
For example, how many of us can think of instances where someone behaves a certain way in a meeting, class, or other interaction, and we or others label them “overreacting.” Sometimes what we perceive as overreacting in the form of anger, fear, or any number of other behaviors or reactions is because something about that environment or interaction is triggering for someone who feels unsafe or has experienced trauma.
In particular, this means that the way one person in the community perceives moving forward is somewhat different. That is, whether you have determined that the person has a pattern of overreacting and whether you have left space for the possibility of them reacting in a way that makes them likely to overreact. It makes sense to take into account contextual information of which we are not aware. Knowing that trauma can exist means we are better able to feel grace and generosity in our interactions with others.
- An exercise in asking “What else will happen?” It helps us build our ability to do what we often shouldn't do: slow down. In trauma-informed practice, we use the sympathetic nervous system to be particularly active during and after trauma, providing space and conditions for that nervous system to decompress. Creating that space requires imagining different kinds of rhythms in what we do in higher education.
An exercise in asking “What else will happen?” These are the practices that can help you get into the habit of slowing down and making space. As we practice asking that question, we slow down and begin to put some distance between the stimulus and the response. We have the ability to act and exist in those spaces in ways that are more nurturing and supportive, not just for those who have experienced trauma, but indeed for everyone we encounter.
Let’s look again at an example of labeling someone in a meeting or class as “overreacting.” Sometimes the person is treated as destructive, melodramatic, or out of control, while people around them begin rolling their eyes, frowning, or displaying other verbal or nonverbal signs that the person is the problem. Over time, a group may consciously or unconsciously decide that a person with a pattern of “overreacting” should be dismissed or ignored, which ultimately serves to marginalize and isolate that person.
But what if we broke that pattern by asking, “What else will happen?” What questions can help us slow down long enough to stop our conditioned responses and do something different? Maybe, rather than deciding that the person is overreacting and has nothing to offer us, we can take a breather and try to listen to what they are actually saying. Perhaps instead of meeting the person in a dismissive or frustrated manner, we will become gentle enough to acknowledge that the fear, anxiety, or feeling of being overwhelmed exists. That is, instead of signaling to the person that we have given up, a little pause can help them feel understood and connected and communicate that they are safe in the way that is most important in the context of trauma. In space, with groups. Making space for others also leaves room for our own imperfect future selves to emerge.
Simply put, we can fill the space between stimulus and response with what I describe as compassionate curiosity. It's not curiosity focused on finding out what happened to someone. Rather, it is a gentle curiosity grounded in a sense of compassion for our fellow humans, which allows us to slow down enough to listen and leave space for them to share who they are.
It's the kind of thing that sometimes stops our natural inclination to be great problem solvers. Instead, it encourages us to simply be present and comfortable listening with the intent to understand. We arrive with grace and a desire to minimize the harm that may arise from our interactions while adhering to the long-term goal of nurturing, restoring, or preserving relationships.
So if there is nothing we can do, let us start by cultivating our ability to slow down higher education by leaving space for the possibility of trauma and getting into the habit of asking, “What else will happen?”