“The award will enable us to better serve our students with a clear focus and emphasis on trauma-informed practices. We are looking forward to assisting our students through support in all areas of the college as we acknowledge the trauma and mental health issues that exist for our students and the community," said Dr. Tiffany Hunter, vice president of academic affairs.
Hunter said the practices have been discussed for a while now, but with the impacts of the coronavirus, it’s become a priority.
“We have been discussing the value and importance of trauma-informed practices for over a year and with the impacts of COVID-19 and how it has adversely affected so many people, the timing is definitely right for us to make this a priority,” she said. “We have had discussions and some trainings about trauma-informed practices in the past and what that means in regards to offering support to faculty, staff and students to ensure that our policies and practices do not trigger hurtful or negative past experiences.”
Dr. Greta Mayer, CEO of the Mental Health Recovery Board of Clark, Greene & Madison Counties, said they are “thrilled” to hear about Clark State’s commitment to trauma-informed practices.
“MHRB has always infused trauma-informed care throughout pathways to care, but they are more important now than ever as our local communities respond to unprecedented levels of trauma with COVID-19 and the recent racial unrest," she said.
Practices won’t necessarily be implemented into the curriculum, but they will become a normal part of engagement with students.
“In the classroom, faculty will put in to practice new strategies and techniques that will strengthen the relationships that they have with students that will lead to higher student retention, completion and ultimately, higher student success,” Hunter said.
Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, Clark State president, said implementing trauma-informed practices will allow the college to add features and programs that will be helpful and supportive for all students, especially those who have experienced trauma or potentially traumatic events.
“Clark State is one of the first college to scale trauma-informed practice to ensure student success. This grant is very timely given the collective traumas many students have experienced as a result of the pandemic,” she said.
Clark State will move towards a trauma-informed model of operations as the goal is to increase enrollment, student success, retention and completion by supporting students in order to reduce stress and improve mental health, the release stated.
Some of the features of trauma-informed practices include maximizing a person’s choices and control over a situation, basing interactions in relational collaboration and emphasizing strengths, and adaptations and resilience over symptoms.
The college currently has a counseling services coordinator who provides support to faculty, staff and students.
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