Guest post by Calista Colbert, MA, LCMHC, NCC and Caroline Engler, PhD, HSP-P
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

The classroom is a primary setting for connecting with community, engaging with the mind, and making meaning of the world and our place in it. As such, classrooms and those that facilitate them have the unique opportunity to significantly contribute to student wellbeing. 

Those engaging with systems of higher education regularly will not be surprised to learn that modern college students face significant daily challenges. In addition to the unique adverse experiences that each student carries with them to our campuses, they are collectively navigating increasing levels of stress, anxiety, grief, and financial strain. All this while continuing to feel the effects of a global pandemic and the instability wrought by the current sociopolitical climate (Abrams, 2022; Bistricean, C., & Shea, 2021; Robb, 2017; Swedo et al., 2024). Research conducted by The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) over the last decade indicates that university counseling centers (UCCs) in the United States have seen increasing numbers of students cite traumatic experiences as a primary driver for pursuing counseling services. In 2025, UCC clinicians identified trauma as the primary presenting concern for approximately 5% of students seeking treatment. 20% of students said that trauma was a contributing factor to feelings of distress, even if not the main focus of treatment (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2026). By comparison, WCU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) data indicates that 24% of our students present to CAPS with acute or historic trauma as a primary presenting concern. This data suggests that WCU students are seeking treatment for trauma at higher rates than the national average. We can hypothesize from there that many more of our students carry unreported trauma histories. 

So, what is trauma? 

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2026), trauma is an event or circumstance that results in physical, emotional, or life-threatening harm. Trauma often impacts one’s mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being and causes a sense of broken connection – within the relationship with the self, within relationships with others, and within the spirit. Trauma can be caused by a variety of circumstances including: 

• Single events such as an accident, assault, or violent attack. 
  • These may also include commonly overlooked experiences such as surgery, childbirth, the sudden death of a loved one, natural disasters, the conclusion of a significant relationship, or experiencing deliberate cruelty at the hands of another person. 
• Ongoing events or relentless stressors such as living in a crime-ridden neighborhood, navigating a life-threatening illness, bullying, domestic violence, identity-based threats, or childhood abuse or neglect (Robinson et al., 2026). 

Trauma can also be caused and/or augmented by systemic variables. When considering the intersection of racism, ableism, and sexism with the history of higher education, it is clear that academia has (unfortunately) been a primary cause of broken connection for a variety of communities within the United States (Wilder, 2014). 

How does trauma impact learners?

Trauma activates the amygdala and causes survival instincts to disrupt nervous system functioning, diverting energy from cognitive centers (such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex) needed for critical thinking, problem-solving, organizing new information, and memory (Bremner, 2006; Pitman et al., 2012). When traumatic events occur, this process is designed to protect the brain and body against harm. However, when this activation remains constant, it can cause long-term impacts. 

What is trauma-informed care?

If trauma is the impact of broken connection, trauma-informed care is a framework for restoring connection. Trauma-informed care upholds infusion of principles of safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration, and consideration of historical and gender contexts (SAMSHA, 2014).

Those that implement a trauma-informed care framework engage in anticipatory empathy, take universal precautions, and advocate for organizational culture change to reduce the possibility of retraumatization. 

Why does this matter for the classroom?

“Trauma compromises our ability to engage with others by replacing patterns of connection with patterns of protection.” (Dana, 2018, p. xviii) If the classroom is intended to be a place of connection – socially, mentally, emotionally, academically – then facilitators of these spaces must be responsive to the reality of trauma and its impacts. Research show that brain changes resulting from sustained traumatic experience can lead to decreases in retention of new information and reading comprehension (MHA, 2026). In other words, if students are arriving to class anticipating the need to protect themselves from physical, emotional, social, or psychological harm or retraumatization, they will be unable to engage effectively in the learning environment. 

“Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think…
For real change to take place, the body needs to learn that the danger has passed and to live in the reality of the present.” (Van der Kolk, 2014, p. 21)

Relationship and community cause deactivation of survival responses and regulation of nervous system functioning (Canque-Kaplan, 2025). The relationship between faculty and student has the power to become a conduit for communal change, particularly when faculty are infusing their approach to the classroom with trauma-informed care principles. 

Like so many others, we have been significantly shaped by our professors and instructors. We hold dear the educators in our lives who saw us as human first, student second, and invited us to co-create classroom environments where our experiences did not define us as people. Now, as licensed mental health clinicians working within a university counseling center setting, we are thrilled to hear student accounts of the support they receive from their professors – especially during trying times. When we consider the faculty that have greatly contributed to our personal and professional development and to the development of our WCU students, we are reminded of those that aid in the creation of contextually-driven learning environments that promoted safety, trust, collaboration, choice, and community empowerment. This is trauma-informed care. 

Connect with the contents of this blog post or want to learn more?

• Consider joining us at Week ZERO for our presentation “Trauma-Informed Teaching: Strategies for Implementation.” This interactive workshop is designed to build on these themes, more deeply explore trauma-informed care principles, and identify practical strategies for supporting student wellness in classroom settings. The presentation will include hands-on activities, rich discussion, and resources for continued learning. 
  • Wednesday, August 12th at 1:00 PM 
  • The full Week Zero Schedule can be found on the CFC website.
• Be on the lookout for chapter features in upcoming published works (expected 2027): 
  • Trauma-Informed Transformations in Higher Education 
  • Transforming Mental Health in Higher Education: Leadership Strategies and Innovative Approaches 
• Reach out to collaborate on training opportunities for your department. 
  • Calista Colbert, CAPS Assistant Director of Clinical Services, ccolbert@wcu.edu 
  • Caroline Engler, CAPS Director, cengler@wcu.edu

Highlighted Resources for Continued Learning

• Davidson, S. (2024). Trauma and resilience-informed practices for post-secondary education: A guide. trauma-resilience-informed-practices-508c.pdf 
• Menakem, R. (2021). My grandmother’s hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies. Penguin UK. 
• Van der Kolk, B. A. (1994). The body keeps the score: Memory and the evolving psychobiology of posttraumatic stress. Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 
• Wilder, C. S. (2014). Ebony and ivy: Race, slavery, and the troubled history of America’s universities. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 

Additional References 

• Abrams, Z. (2022). Student mental health is in crisis. Campuses are rethinking their approach. Monitor on Psychology, 53(7), 60. 
• Bistricean, C., & Shea, M. (2021). Understanding bereavement among college students: Implications for practice and research. International Dialogues on Education Journal, 8(1), 54-88. 
• Bremner, J. D. (2006). Traumatic stress: Effects on the brain. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 8(4), 445–461.  
• Canque-Kaplan, A. (2025, April). The neuroscience of connection: How relationships rewire neural pathways. kaplantherapy.org. https://kaplantherapy.org/the-neuroscience-of-connection/ 
• Center for Collegiate Mental Health. (2026, January). 2025 Annual Report (Publication No. UBR STA 26-012) 
• Dana, D. (2018). The polyvagal theory in therapy: Engaging the rhythm of regulation. New York, NY: Norton. 
• Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American journal of preventive medicine, 14(4), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8 
• Mental Health America, (2026). How trauma impacts school performance. https://mhanational.org/resources/how-trauma-impacts-school-performance/ 
• Pitman, R. K., et al. (2012). Biological studies of post-traumatic stress disorder. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(11), 769–787. 
• Robb, C. A. (2017). College student financial stress: Are the kids alright?. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 38(4), 514-527. 
• Robinson, L., Smith, M., & Segal, J. (2026, May 19). Emotional and psychological trauma. helpguide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/ptsd-trauma/coping-with-emotional-and-psychological-trauma 
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2026, March 16).
• Trauma and Violence, https://www.samhsa.gov/data 
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach (HHS Publication No. SMA 14-4884). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 
• Swedo, E. A., Pampati, S., Anderson, K. N., et al. (2024). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Conditions and Risk Behaviors Among High School Students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR Suppl 2024: 73 (Suppl-4): 39-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7304a5