School counsellor perspectives: Training to lead and implement trauma-informed practices

Research has identified the significance of trauma-informed practices in schools to support students, families and communities impacted by trauma. And it is school counsellors who are widely recognised as having the expertise to lead and implement these trauma-informed practices. It is imperative, then, for school counsellors to undergo comprehensive preparation programmes to fulfil this vital role, and that these preparation programmes be evaluated in terms of effectiveness. The small body of research into school counsellor preparation for trauma-informed practice comes largely from the US and indicates US school counsellors did not feel their preparation programmes prepared them to implement trauma-informed practices. The Australian study of 36 school counsellors in an online survey, also established an inadequacy for these school counsellors to either support students impacted by trauma or lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools, notably schools that take a behaviourist approach to behaviour management. Clearly, a new holistic approach to school counsellor education, the School-Based Family Counselling meta-model must be available for all school counsellors to skilfully and confidently use trauma-informed practices with the people in the schools, families and communities they serve.