Abstract
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.
Keywords
Introduction
School counsellors must be prepared and confident to both support students impacted by trauma, and lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools. It is critical that preparation programmes include such trauma-informed practices given the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic, disasters and the growing incidence of child abuse, domestic violence and mental health concerns (Darwin et al., 2023; Howard, 2019; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration [SAMHSA], 2014). This study identified the urgency for Australian school counsellors to engage in training that enables them to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools, having surveyed their perspectives on the knowledge and skills they need in their everyday practice.
School counselling preparation courses in Australia
Those working in school counselling across Australia are described as a school counsellor, guidance officer, guidance counsellor and school psychologist. These positions have similar yet different qualifications and accreditation requirements, determined at the state level and varying across public (state), Catholic and Independent (usually faith-based) schools (Australian Psychological Society, 2022; Campbell & Glasheen, 2017; Fajardo et al., 2020). The study presented here in this paper uses the term ‘school counsellor’ to include all professionally qualified personnel working in Australian school counselling contexts. The school counsellor’s role in Australia generally involves supporting students, teachers, parents and communities in helping students achieve educational and social-emotional goals through proactive and reactive strategies (Campbell & Glasheen, 2017). Responsibilities may include conducting psychoeducational and psychological assessments, providing career and personal counselling, providing behaviour support strategies and offering consultation and professional development for teachers and parents (Campbell & Glasheen, 2017).
School counsellor qualifications vary across states. For example, in Queensland, Guidance Officers must be registered teachers with a Master of Education (School Guidance and Counselling). This Master qualification trains school-counsellors-in-training to support students’ social-emotional, behavioural and academic needs. A desktop review of how Master of Education (School Guidance and Counselling) programmes teach trauma-informed practices discovered the focus to be on identifying and developing student interventions, and how to facilitate group, classroom and school-wide approaches with evidence of some trauma-informed practices included (Bowyer, 2023; Howard & Brown, 2024). All other Australian states and territories have school psychologists, positions that require individuals to complete an accredited university course in psychology and be registered as a psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Psychology Board of Australia, 2024). Australian post-graduate psychology training programmes focus on individual therapy, assessment, diagnosis and intervention (Bowyer, 2023), with evidence of limited trauma training included (Sadusky et al., 2021).
Current study
School counsellors today have the challenge of working with an increasing number of trauma-impacted students, given as already established, the impacts of the pandemic, disasters, incidence of child abuse and domestic violence and mental health concerns. This study therefore, aimed to establish how trauma-informed practices are being taught in Australian school counselling preparation programmes by asking the two research questions:
To what extent do school counsellors perceive their school counselling preparation programmes prepared them to support students impacted by trauma, and lead and implement trauma-informed practices?
How can school counselling preparation programmes ensure graduates lead and implement trauma-informed practices in their work?
Background
Since the rapidly growing body of research (Downey & Crummy, 2022; Wiest-Stevenson & Lee, 2016) is driving a paradigm shift on addressing the impact of trauma, it is the traditional approaches to teaching, learning and behaviour management for students impacted by trauma that must be analysed. The international work of school counsellors is drawing from neuroscience (Duenyas & Luke, 2019; Howard et al., 2022; Miller et al., 2018; Thompson & Carlson, 2022) in a promising approach to inform their practice, particularly when school counsellors are expected to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools (Alexander & Hinrichs, 2019). This expectation is recognised by the American School Counsellor Association which claims, ‘school counsellors understand the impact adverse childhood experiences have on students’ academic achievement and social/emotional development. By implementing a school counselling programme, school counsellors strive to identify, support and promote the success of students who experienced trauma’ (American School Counselor Association, 2022, paragraph 1).
The role of a school counsellor is complex because it encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. This complexity is further heightened by differences in educational systems and the various titles used to describe their position, such as school counsellor, school psychologist, guidance officer and guidance counsellor (Campbell & Colmar, 2014). Additionally, the training and work environments for these professionals can vary significantly (Romano et al., 2005; Trolley, 2011). School counselling educators themselves, must be trauma-informed and then be responsible for teaching school counsellors-in-training (Nelson, 2024; Wells, 2022). Fundamental to school counsellors being trauma-informed is that school counselling preparation programmes be founded theoretically and have a practical component in trauma-informed practices (Romano et al., 2005; Trolley, 2011).
The trauma-informed school counsellor
The education literature presents different definitions of trauma that focus on the range of experiences that may cause harm to children, complex trauma which encompasses childhood maltreatment (Higgins et al., 2023) and may occur over time and disrupt a child’s development, behaviour and learning (Howard, 2019; Walter & Waynard, 2025), to single incident events that are unexpected and may be life-threatening such as a natural disaster (Howard, 2022). What is often overlooked is the impact of historical and cultural trauma and racism, as well as schools being a source of trauma (Gherardi et al., 2021; Walter & Waynard, 2025). This study, therefore, acknowledges the comprehensive nature of trauma and trauma-informed practices as established by Gherardi et al. (2021, p. 10) . . . .trauma-informed practices refer to practices that are supportive of the range of potential student responses to a range of adverse experiences. These experiences may be harmful or frightening things that happen to students, or things they witness or hear about happening to those around them. They may occur once and be severe or more moderate and ongoing. They may be caused by unmet needs in their household or by unjust practices at school. They may also be caused by social injustice – current or historical – that impacts their family, community, or cultural group. Importantly, responses to adverse events vary depending on the way they are experienced by children and supports in place when they are experienced. As a result, trauma-informed responses are focused on building supports and increasing resilience and not only on identifying adverse experiences (adapted from SAMHSA, 2014, p. 7).
School counsellors are in a unique position to support and advocate for students impacted by trauma, working both directly with students and within and across the school, family and community systems (Carter & Evans, 2008; B. A. Gerrard & Soriano, 2020; Howard et al., 2022; Morrison, 2022; Turmaud, 2022). This support is particularly valuable in school systems that adopt a punitive approach to discipline, an approach that does not align with current research on the effects of trauma (Alvarez et al., 2022; Stratford et al., 2020; Zyromski et al., 2022).
Whole school approaches to trauma-informed education
There are different whole-school approaches to implementing trauma-informed practices, including Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and the School-Based Family Counselling meta-model (SBFC). This section aims to explore the role of school counsellors in applying trauma-informed practices within the school context, particularly through the frameworks of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and School-Based Family Counselling.
Before delving into this discussion, it is important to consider the ongoing discourse surrounding Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) and its relationship with trauma-informed practices. PBL is a multi-tiered, behaviourist approach that supports student behaviour (Brummer & Thorsborne, 2024; Kim & Venet, 2023). Some scholars argue that trauma-informed practices can be effectively integrated within PBL (Eber et al., 2020; Riggs & Landrum, 2023; Thomas et al., 2019). Eber et al. (2020) assert that PBL can address the needs of students affected by trauma because ‘stakeholders identify what competencies and interventions are most needed, teach regulation and coping skills across settings, and ensure that specific trauma-informed approaches are being implemented accurately and with enough intensity to improve student outcomes’ (p. 15).
Conversely, some critics argue that trauma-informed practices should not be conflated with PBL due to fundamental differences between the two approaches. PBL follows a behaviourist framework that posits that behaviours are observable and measurable and can be changed using rewards and consequences (Kim & Venet, 2023). Many scholars and practitioners focussed on trauma-informed education express concerns regarding this approach, suggesting that the strategies and rewards used in PBL to reinforce positive behaviour may lack a basis in neuroscience and could potentially cause trauma for Indigenous students, students of colour, neurodivergent students, disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and those already impacted by trauma (Brummer & Thorsborne, 2024; Craig, 2017; Howard, 2022; Kim & Venet, 2023). This highlights the important leadership role of school counsellors in leading and implementing trauma-informed practices to support all students.
While the research on the school counsellors’ role in trauma-informed practices is in its infancy, there are key examples that demonstrate how school counsellors can lead and implement trauma-informed practices within established whole-school approaches. A whole-school approach to improving student outcomes involves making changes to school culture, teachers engaging in professional learning, working with parents, parent education, community involvement and co-ordinated work with outside agencies (Weare & Nind, 2011). The two most common of these whole-school approaches are the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and the School-Based Family Counselling (SBFC) meta-model (Berger, 2019; B. Gerrard & van Schalkwyk, 2020; Howard, 2022).
The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is an education service delivery model that supports students’ academic, social-emotional and behavioural needs (E. C. Goodman-Scott et al., 2022; Pullen et al., 2018). MTSS is data-driven and provides support through early identification and different levels of support designed to teach skills and prevent further issues experienced by students from occurring (Chafouleas et al., 2016). However, it is the numerous and intricate factors, such as the engagement of care systems, family confidentiality and school resources that make the needs of students impacted by trauma to be more than academic challenges (Chafouleas et al., 2016). Implementing trauma-informed practices in schools must, therefore rely on understanding these complexities and aligning meticulous planning and decision-making (Chafouleas et al., 2016; Reinbergs & Fefer, 2018) to ensure educators have the knowledge and skills to use trauma-informed practices (Walter & Waynard, 2025).
Understanding each tier within the MTSS and how different researchers suggest trauma-informed practices can be implemented at each tier is valuable in guiding the school counsellors’ work. Tier 1 uses universal strategies to build positive adaptive systems, which include developing positive educational climates, including building relationships and social, emotional and behavioural expectations, and students are provided with the opportunity to develop problem-solving and coping skills (Chafouleas et al., 2016; Reinbergs & Fefer, 2018). The school counsellor may work with school personnel to enhance teacher capabilities to work with students impacted by trauma and their families (Costa, 2017; Gubi et al., 2019; Howard, 2022; Rawson, 2021). This capacity building may include training in trauma-informed practices for all staff (Berger, 2019), which, to be sustainable, must be organised to focus on prevention, early intervention and thoughtful allocation of resources (Reinbergs & Fefer, 2018).
At tier 2, the school counsellor may play an important role in providing targeted support to at-risk students. Strategies may include providing students with psychoeducation about trauma and the impact of trauma, explicitly identifying social support systems for students and for students to continue to strengthen their self-regulation skills (Chafouleas et al., 2016). The school counsellor may also implement targeted programmes that emphasise positive childhood experiences and protective factors and provide counselling such as trauma-focussed cognitive behavioural therapy (Reinbergs & Fefer, 2018; Zyromski et al., 2022). The school counsellor may also provide consultation to staff (Berger, 2019).
Tier 3 enables intensive and individualised intervention for students (Berger, 2019). The school counsellor may provide further counselling, lead case management for identified students and work with community agencies (Berger, 2019; Chafouleas et al., 2016; Costa, 2017; Howard, 2022). The availability of specialised support from community agencies will vary depending on the location and the resources available (Reinbergs & Fefer, 2018).
The School-Based Family Counselling (SBFC) meta-model is the second approach school counsellors use to guide their work in leading and implementing trauma-informed practices. This SBFC meta-model, informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, is a practical approach with the two primary axes of a School Focus and Family Focus, and Prevention Focus and Intervention Focus, which intersect to form four quadrants: School Intervention, School Prevention, Family Intervention and Family Prevention, within the broader context of the community (B. Gerrard & van Schalkwyk, 2020). Each quadrant presents different approaches to support students and families. School Intervention refers to adjustments that can be made at school and may include parent and teacher consultation, group counselling, crisis intervention and student support groups (B. A. Gerrard & Soriano, 2020). School Prevention focusses on proactive strategies and may include support with classroom management, anti-bullying programmes and whole-school mental health approaches (B. A. Gerrard & Soriano, 2020). Family Intervention refers to interventions that address family situations that may be affecting children, and may include parent consultation and family counselling (B. A. Gerrard & Soriano, 2020). Family Prevention refers to psychoeducation that can be provided to support families and parent education workshops (B. A. Gerrard & Soriano, 2020). Community Intervention refers to collaboration with community resources to support children, families and schools (B. A. Gerrard & Soriano, 2020). With these four quadrants, the SBFC meta-model is comprehensive in its support approaches.
Howard and Brown (2024) mapped the Queensland school counsellor role against the SBFC meta-model for the purpose of identifying how the SBFC meta-model can inform school counsellors to lead and implement trauma-informed practices. This mapping demonstrated the comprehensiveness of the SBFC meta-model. That is, at the school prevention level, school counsellors champion and guide the school to adopt a comprehensive approach to trauma-informed practices by ensuring school policies are developed with a trauma-informed perspective; provide staff with training and ongoing support in implementing trauma-informed practices; working from a position of strengths, and educating students about the impact of stress on their brain and nervous system; and, teaching students strategies for self-regulation (Howard & Brown, 2024). At the school intervention level, a trauma-informed school counsellor can apply neuroscience knowledge and use a strengths-based approach to support students with complex behaviour (Howard & Brown, 2024). This support includes the school counsellor providing check-in/check-out support for students, engaging in complex case management, offering individual and small group counselling, collaborating with families and teachers to establish student support plans and assisting students in developing self-regulation strategies (Howard & Brown, 2024). At the family prevention and intervention level, the school counsellor can build connections with families to help students become involved and successful in school and direct them to external agencies for family support and intervention (Howard & Brown, 2024). At the community level, the school counsellor can work alongside the community to develop trauma-informed and culturally sensitive partnerships (Howard & Brown, 2024).
Fundamental to the success of school counsellors effectively implementing the SBFC meta-model and carrying out this critical work is that school counsellors themselves be proficient in leading and implementing trauma-informed practices (Howard & Brown, 2024).
The MTSS framework and SBFC meta-model both identify the importance of school prevention and intervention. The SBFC meta-model however, offers more than the MTSS. It focusses on family intervention, prevention and community, which is vital for school counsellors working with students impacted by trauma because any genuine attempt to address the underlying causes or widespread impacts of trauma must engage families and communities (Gherardi et al., 2020). Schools, to genuinely support students impacted by trauma to be successful at school, must therefore have every system in a student’s life – the school, family and community systems – as part of the equation to support students. The MTSS does not have this extent of support, as its primary focus is on the student within the school system, with school personnel liaising with family about data-based decision making in student support planning (Weingarten et al., 2020). There is no consideration to other family and community systems in the student’s life. It is the SBFC meta-model that addresses all the systems involved in a student’s life – school, family and community – and looks to ways to provide holistic support. Such an approach is valuable and vital for school counsellors working with students impacted by trauma.
Trauma-informed practice training in school counselling preparation programmes
While it is established that school counselling preparation programmes must teach trauma-informed practices to school counsellors-in-training, the question remains, how prepared are they to lead and implement trauma-informed practices? School counsellor training in trauma-informed practice differs across programmes and is influenced by school counselling educators’ school counselling expertise and experience (Warren et al., 2020). School counselling programmes must ensure school counsellors-in-training can identify trauma, understand how trauma impacts students and have skills to translate their understanding of trauma and its impact on students to school personnel. They then need to provide trauma-informed counselling to students, take a trauma-informed approach to assessment, be able to work across multi-tiered systems of support and work with families and communities (Chatters & Liu, 2020; Grimes et al., 2023; Howard et al., 2022; Maddox et al., 2022; Rumsey & Milsom, 2019; Sink, 2016; Tolorunleke et al., 2022), all of which is very demanding.
Research is emerging about how prepared school counsellors are in trauma-informed practices (Chatters & Liu, 2020; E. Goodman-Scott et al., 2016; Gubi et al., 2019, 2023), particularly in the US. There, most school counsellors reported their programmes were inadequate, provided insufficient knowledge or competency in trauma-informed practices and so demanded more training in trauma-informed practices, especially in the areas of assessment and intervention (Gubi et al., 2019, 2023; Powell, 2022; Wells, 2022). This research is only in the US and needs to occur worldwide as trauma impacts students everywhere.
Trauma-informed practices in schools are relatively new in Australia (Howard et al., 2022) and expanding due to factors including recent research: two in five Australians experience two or more types of abuse (Higgins et al., 2023) and recognition of the impact of colonisation (Dudgeon & Walker, 2015) with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children overrepresented in child protection, out-of-home care and youth justice (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024). Children and young people impacted by trauma attend school, and school counsellors play an essential role within Australian schools to support all students, particularly those impacted by trauma (Howard et al., 2022). Research examining the school counsellor’s role in trauma-informed practice is scarce (Howard et al., 2022), and how well school counsellors are prepared to lead and implement trauma-informed practices is addressed in this paper for the first time.
Method
Australian school counsellors were invited to complete an online survey to share their perceptions of how well their school counselling preparation programmes prepared them to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in their work. The questions were adapted from Wells’ (2022) School Counselor Perceptions and Knowledge of Trauma-Informed Practices questionnaire.
This survey consisted of four demographic questions, 11 items using a Likert-type rating scale and four open-ended questions with responses analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022).
The four demographic items included: (i) state or territory where the school counsellor is currently working; (ii) work location – categorised as metropolitan, urban, regional, rural or remote; (iii) school context – categorised as primary, secondary, Prep to Year 10, Prep to Year 12, Kindergarten to Year 10, Kindergarten to Year 12 and other; and, (iv) years of experience as a school counsellor – categorised as 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15, 16 to 20 and 21 or more years.
The 11 items with a Likert-type rating scale explored five areas, with example questions for each area as follows:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Procedure
Ethics approval was gained through the author’s University Human Research Ethics Committee (LR 2023-7747-16015). Potential participants were identified through the author’s professional networks and snowball sampling. The survey was advertised via social media sites including LinkedIn, Australian school counselling Facebook sites and the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools Association newsletter. The online survey was voluntary and anonymous. Participants clicked on the link in the social media post to be automatically directed to the University’s QUALTRICS landing page, which presented the full Survey Participation Information Sheet. The landing page indicated consent would be given by completing a partially or fully completed survey. A screening question at the start of the survey asked participants to identify whether they are currently working as a school counsellor or have worked as a school counsellor within the last 18 months in an Australian school, to ensure relevant data was collected. The online survey was anonymous, so participants could not withdraw once it was partially or fully completed. The survey was available from October 2023 to the end of January 2024.
Data analysis
Survey data was analysed using Microsoft Excel. Closed-ended data was calculated using descriptive statistics for rating scales and demographic data (Wells, 2022). Open-ended data was examined through the use of reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) following the step of multiple readings to become familiar with the data, generating initial codes, identifying themes and finally reviewing, defining and naming themes (Braun & Clarke, 2022).
Participants
Sixty-three participants accessed the university’s QUALTRICS platform, and 51 completed the consent form online to participate in the study. Fifteen respondents partially completed the survey and omitted 25% or more of the responses. These low responders were removed, resulting in a total sample of 36 (see Table 1 for participant demographics).
Participant demographics.
Note. No participants from Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, South Australia or Northern Territory.
Thirty-three school counsellors participating in this study came from the state of Queensland (91%), with one each from the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. The school counsellors worked in various locations: 12 were from metropolitan areas, 11 regional, 7 urban, 5 rural and 1 from a remote area.
Many school counsellors worked in the secondary [high] school setting (n = 19), followed by primary (elementary) schools (n = 10), three in Prep to Year 12 schools, two in Prep to Year 10 schools and two who identified working across different year levels.
The majority of participants were early career school counsellors with 1 to 5 years experience (n = 22), followed by 6 to 10 years (n = 5) and 11 to 15 years (n = 4). Only three participants had 16 to 20 years of experience, while two had worked as school counsellors for 21 or more years.
Results
This section presents the Australian school counsellor perspectives of their trauma-informed practices training including: initial preparation in trauma-informed practice, school counsellor trauma knowledge, school counsellor self-efficacy in working in a trauma-informed way, school counsellors’ role in trauma-informed practice and school counsellor wellbeing. Table 2 presents an overview of the participants’ responses to the Likert questions.
Overview of survey results – Australian school counsellors’ perspectives of trauma-informed practices training.
School counsellors’ initial preparation in trauma-informed practices
Participants were asked how much training in trauma-informed practices was embedded in their programme’s curriculum and how much of the training was part of the lecturer’s pedagogy. A quarter of participants, 25% (n = 9), stated a great deal or a lot of trauma-informed practice was embedded into the curriculum, and 17% (n = 6) reported a great deal or a lot was part of the lecturer’s pedagogy.
The majority of participants, 61% (n = 22) reported receiving some or a limited amount of training in their school counselling preparation programme to support students impacted by trauma, 22% (n = 8) received a great deal or a lot of training and 17% (n = 6) of participants indicated they received no training.
When participants were asked open-ended questions about the types of training their school counselling preparation courses provided in supporting students impacted by trauma, the emerging theme was that training provided ‘awareness of and the impact of trauma’ and limited strategies on how to work with students impacted by trauma. Two participants stated they did not receive training in trauma-informed practice because of the time since completing their initial training. For example, ‘In my degrees (20 years ago), I do not remember any trauma-informed training’. Another shared, ‘I completed my training in 1999 when trauma was not part of the course’.
Access to training in trauma-informed practices influenced how satisfied participants were, with 44% (n = 16) somewhat or extremely dissatisfied with their level of training to support students impacted by trauma, 42% (n = 15) extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied and 14% (n = 5) were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
The open-ended question established the level of training participants had received in leading a whole school approach in trauma-informed practice. Fifty-six percent (n = 20) responded ‘none’. Others (n = 7) identified assignments, lectures and professional experience units as means to learn about whole-school approaches to trauma-informed practices. One participant shared that ‘lectures, tutorials, assessment tasks and professional experience covered whole school approaches and leading those [trauma-informed] approaches’.
The majority of participants expressed dissatisfaction with how their school counselling preparation programme trained them to lead a whole school approach in trauma-informed practices. The majority, 58% (n = 21), were somewhat or extremely dissatisfied, with 28% (n = 10) being extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied and 14% (n = 5) neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
Knowing school counsellors engage in professional development, participants were asked to select other sources of training they accessed for trauma-informed practices. Participants were able to select more than one response, with the most common sources of training being; 92% (n = 33) engaged in professional development offered by external agencies, 89% (n = 32) accessed publications, 78% (n = 28) attended conferences and 75% accessed professional learning offered by their education system. When asked which of these training sources had the most influence on their practice, the majority, 37.5% (n = 24) identified that externally provided training in trauma-informed practice, and 26.5% (n = 17) claimed reading publications were the most impactful. The sources of attending conferences, 26.5% (n = 17) and 12.5% (n = 8) training provided by their education system followed. Participants stated the source of externally provided training in trauma-informed practice was most effective, claiming it was ‘evidence-based and practical’ and that external providers ‘provided the most up-to-date and relevant practice in a practical manner’.
School counsellor trauma knowledge
Participants were asked to rate how important it is for school counsellor practice to know about different areas of trauma knowledge: 100% (n = 36) identified the following as being extremely or very important – knowledge of social, emotional, cognitive and physical impacts of trauma; knowledge of trauma-informed classroom and school-wide strategies or practices; and, knowledge of social-emotional learning practices. Ninety-seven percent (n = 35) identified the following as being extremely or very important – knowledge of the neurobiology of trauma and knowledge of culturally responsive practices. Ninety-two percent (n = 33) of participants identified the following areas as being extremely or very important – knowledge of the different types of trauma including intergenerational trauma. Participants were asked to identify any other areas. The 72% (n = 26) who responded identified; domestic and family violence, supporting LGBTQIA+ students, eating disorders, intergenerational trauma, expressive therapies and culturally safe practices.
Participants identified the importance of knowing how to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools with one participant stating to do so means school counsellors needed to know how to ‘translate [trauma-informed practices] research into practical strategies for teachers’. Participants also identified the struggle they experienced in knowing how to lead trauma-informed practices in schools that take a behaviourist approach to managing student behaviour. One participant explained this struggle as knowing ‘how to integrate trauma-informed pedagogy with PB4L [Positive Behaviour for Learning, also known as Positive Behavioural Interventions and Support]’.
School counsellor self-efficacy in working in a trauma-informed way
Of the 97% (n = 35) respondents who answered these questions, 60% (n = 21) reported they were developing confidence in their ability to recognise and respond to symptoms of trauma in students, while 37% (n = 13) identified being very confident, and 3% (n = 1) identified as having limited confidence. When asked about their confidence in determining when a student impacted by trauma falls outside their realm of expertise, 60% (n = 21) identified they were very confident, 37% (n = 13) identified they were developing confidence and 3% (n = 1) reported having limited confidence.
Respondents were also asked to rate whether they have a comprehensive understanding of childhood trauma. Of the 91% (n = 33) who answered this question, 94% (n = 31) strongly agreed or agreed, while 6% (n = 2) disagreed that their understanding of childhood trauma was comprehensive.
School counsellors’ role in trauma-informed practice
Sixty-six percent (n = 24) of respondents strongly agreed or agreed, and 11% (n = 3) disagreed when asked to rate their beliefs on how much school counsellors should be responsible for providing trauma-informed prevention and intervention strategies. School counsellors were then asked to rate their belief on whether they should be responsible for providing trauma-informed practice training to all staff at their school/s. Of the 72% (n = 26) who answered this question, 85% (n = 22) selected strongly agree or agree, compared to 15% (n = 4) who disagreed or strongly disagreed.
School counsellor wellbeing
Participants were asked to reflect on how they maintain their professional well-being with the increasing risk of vicarious trauma. Ninety-two percent (n = 33) stated that practising self-care and engaging in supervision was extremely or very important. Eighty-nine percent (n = 32) stated that ongoing self-reflection was extremely or very important compared to 11% (n = 4) who identified this as moderately important. Eighty-six percent (n = 31) identified it is extremely or very important to be aware of their own identity and values, compared to 14% (n = 5) who identified this as moderately important.
How should trauma-informed practices be included in school counselling preparation programmes?
Participants were asked how school counselling preparation programs could improve the content and instruction provided on trauma-informed practices. Eighty-six percent (n = 31) responded to this open-ended question with responses categorised into the themes of ‘trauma-informed practices included in all programmes’ and ‘specific areas of trauma-informed practice’.
Overwhelmingly, participants identified the importance of trauma-informed practices as part of school counselling preparation programmes, with one participant clearly articulating:
now that we have specific guidelines, frameworks, and rich research in regard to trauma-informed practices, I believe all school counsellors must complete mandatory units in this area. I can’t imagine not having TIP [trauma-informed practice] in a school counselling training program. All school counsellors need to have this training to be effective in our roles.
Participants had different ideas on how trauma-informed practices should be included in the school counselling preparation programme. One stated, ‘it would help to have this [trauma-informed practices] weaved throughout all aspects of the guidance counselling programme’. Others believed there should be ‘specific units’ in trauma-informed practices and should be a ‘compulsory subject’. Some believed there should be ‘multiple units provided that educate about trauma specifically and then one that focusses on working with teachers to be more trauma-aware’.
Participants identified ‘specific areas of trauma-informed practices’ that should be included in school counselling preparation programmes, namely: practical strategies; use of case studies/scenarios; examples of whole school approaches to trauma-informed practices; how to support students with trauma in the classroom; how trauma affects social, psychological and biological development; intergenerational trauma; how to lead a team to implement a whole school approach to trauma-informed practice; and, incorporate trauma-informed practices in career counselling units.
Discussion
School counsellors in Australia are ideally positioned in schools to lead and implement trauma-informed practices and work with families of students and their local communities. This Australian study of 36 school counsellors in an online survey established an inadequacy for these school counsellors to either support students impacted by trauma, or lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools. This inadequacy was particularly evident in schools with a behaviourist approach to behaviour management. As anticipated, these findings are similar to those presented in US research (Gubi et al., 2019, 2023; Wells, 2022), confirming most school counsellors have not received the necessary training in their school counselling preparation programmes and instead, acquiring the knowledge and skills they perceive they need by participating in training from external agencies once they start working as school counsellors.
This Australian study is an essential step to develop training, training that is effective and better prepares school counsellors-in-training to lead and implement trauma-informed practices. This Australian study also presented three surprising findings arising from the open-ended question on how trauma-informed practices should be included in school counsellor preparation programmes, and the question asking school counsellors about their self-efficacy in implementing trauma-informed practices. These findings are: (1) school counsellors offered few suggestions on what they believe they need in school counselling preparation programmes about whole-school approaches to trauma-informed practices; (2) school counsellors’ understanding of the value of how to work with families and communities was limited and (3) the self-efficacy of school counsellors in identifying how trauma is impacting students and how to support these students effectively was limited. These three findings answer the research questions: (1) To what extent do school counsellors perceive their school counselling preparation programmes prepared them to support students impacted by trauma and lead and implement trauma-informed practices? (2) How can school counselling preparation programmes ensure graduates lead and implement trauma-informed practices in their work? The three findings are valuable as they highlight for school counselling educators what needs to be taught for school counsellors to be prepared to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools and the need for School-Based Family Counselling.
The first finding was that Australian school counsellors could identify the importance of learning about ‘whole school approaches to trauma-informed practices’ but were unable to specify the knowledge and skills they needed to be specifically taught in this learning area. These school counsellors did not reference the MTSS framework, Positive Behaviour for Learning or any other MTSS framework to support student behaviour. One would anticipate since many schools use Positive Behaviour for Learning as their approach to supporting student behaviour that this would be identified as an area of learning in school counselling preparation programmes. This lack of reference to MTSS and Positive Behaviour for Learning suggests these school counsellors may not yet have an active leadership role within MTSS or Positive Behaviour for Learning teams, even when researchers advocate for school counsellors to take on leadership roles with their expertise in supporting student behaviour and creating positive systemic change in schools (Betters-Bubon & Donohue, 2016; E. Goodman-Scott et al., 2023).
The second finding worth exploring is why school counsellors in this study, who identified the importance of knowing about culturally safe practices, intergenerational trauma and domestic and family violence, did not refer to how to work with the parents and families of students who may also be impacted by trauma. While research into intergenerational trauma and domestic violence shows the impact it has on children’s education (Lloyd, 2018; Velandia et al., 2024), school counsellors may lack knowledge about the structure and role of family members from different cultures such as First Nations, or how to work in a culturally safe, trauma-informed way (Exell & Gower, 2021; Tujague & Ryan, 2023). Another factor for this lack of reference to family and community may be restrictions in the Australian school counsellors’ role, where the focus is on student engagement at school, and parents are consulted about their child’s education (E. Goodman-Scott et al., 2023), or due even to ambiguity in the school counsellor role (Blake, 2020). School counsellors can have a more significant impact when they work with students as part of a family context rather than as individuals and concurrently work with the family to better understand the dynamics of working together to support their child (Gherardi et al., 2021; Kraus, 1998).
Australian school counselling preparation programmes as of 2024, do not explicitly teach a model of working with families. The fundamental principle of the School-Based Family Counselling (SBFC) meta-model is that it considers the intricate and interconnected systems of schools, families and communities and is an integrated approach to mental health intervention (B. A. Gerrard, 2022). The SBFC meta-model can direct the work of school counsellors and schooling counselling educators in terms of how they structure their preparation programmes (B. A. Gerrard, 2022).
The third surprise finding was that 60% of school counsellors reported they were developing confidence in their ability to recognise and respond to symptoms of trauma in students, yet at the same time, 94% strongly agreed or agreed they have a comprehensive understanding of childhood trauma. This discrepancy may be due to school counsellors accessing a range of professional learning from outside a formal learning programme, such as professional reading, attending conferences, external agency training or school-based training. While school counsellors may have accessed training in trauma-informed practices, they may not yet have had the opportunity to learn how to apply and embed their knowledge of trauma, in practical terms, in their work with students, schools, families and communities.
Implications for implementing trauma-informed practices in Australian school counselling programmes
School counsellor educators, those who train educators to become school counsellors, have an ethical responsibility to ensure future school counsellors are ready for the job (Reese, 2021). It is fundamental these school counsellor educators evaluate the effectiveness of their programmes through rigorous course evaluation. The only known evaluation of an Australian school counselling preparation programme was undertaken by Ashman et al. (1993) stated the importance of considering how practical skills can be taught, claiming school counselling educators ‘must come to appreciate that as society increases in complexity, and the problems facing children in our schools multiply, then we must reconsider how training programmes can be designed and redesigned to meet these challenges’ (p. 13).
The Australian study presented here, 30 years on from the Ashman et al. (1993) claim, is the first known Australian study of school counsellors and their perspectives, with findings highlighting the need for a major revamp of Australian school counselling preparation programmes. Like in the US, no standard approach exists for school counselling preparation programmes to embed trauma-informed practices (E. Goodman-Scott et al., 2016; Wells, 2022), which makes addressing this issue critical. The need for a unified approach is heightened, particularly when there are differing values about the role of trauma-informed practices in schools, between school counselling preparation programmes and the education systems where graduates from school counselling preparation programmes work. The complexity of implementing trauma-informed practices in schools can be addressed when education systems, professional school counselling associations and school counsellor educators, partner to address any incongruence between the trauma-informed practice content covered in school counselling preparation programmes and existing education systems and school policies.
School counsellors lack of practical knowledge in trauma-informed practices has significant implications for school counselling educators whose preparation programmes must bridge the gap between theory and practice. School counsellors-in-training must gain theoretical knowledge about trauma and its impact, and engage in practical activities to translate this knowledge across school, family and community systems.
These findings are valuable and provide direction for school counselling educators on what needs to be included in school counselling preparation courses; knowledge of the different types of trauma, intergenerational trauma, the neurobiology of trauma, the social/emotional/cognitive and physical impacts of trauma, culturally responsive practices, trauma-informed classroom strategies and whole school strategies. Research into the needs of school counsellors identifies other important areas for school counsellors to have knowledge and skills, including the reporting of child abuse (Brown et al., 2024) and how to respond to disasters and critical incidents (Crumb et al., 2021).
Curriculum mapping systematically explores and identifies relevant elements of a programme (Arafeh, 2016) and is a key strategy to ensure these areas of trauma are included in school counselling preparation programmes. Mapping identifies where these areas are embedded, the practical activities for school counsellors-in-training to apply their knowledge and where trauma-informed practices are not embedded across the course (Spencer et al., 2012; Wells, 2022). This mapping should occur across each unit of the school counselling programme, and ultimately, increase transparency of how trauma-informed practices are taught in school counselling preparation programmes (Rawle et al., 2017).
Along with curriculum mapping, the next fundamental step is for school counselling educators, those who teach in the school counselling preparation programmes, to be trained in trauma-informed practices. Specifically, school counselling educators must be trained in seven key areas: 1. different types of trauma (Courtois & Ford, 2024); 2. how trauma impacts students in schools; 3: trauma-informed practices that can be used to support students and how to lead trauma-informed practices in schools; 4. how school counsellors can use the SBFC meta-model to inform their work (B. A. Gerrard et al., 2020); 5. how to work with families and communities; 6. First Nations perspectives and how to work in a culturally safe and trauma-informed way (Tujague & Ryan, 2023); and, 7. how to teach school counsellors-in-training in a trauma-informed way (L’Estrange et al., 2023). Only then will our school counsellors be skilled at leading and implementing trauma-informed practices in schools.
Limitations
This study was based on the survey responses of a small sample size and promoted through the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools newsletters and social media. The minimal participation rate could be attributed to the conflicting titles used to describe school counsellors in Australia. This study used the term ‘school counsellors’, which may not reflect the role titles of potential participants, such as school psychologists, leading to their possible exclusion from the study. The voluntary and self-report nature of participant responses means those school counsellors who have a specific interest in trauma-informed practices participated in the study, leading to possible bias in the study findings. Findings are not fully generalisable but do indicate that school counsellors-in-training must receive training in leading and implementing trauma-informed practices in their school counselling preparation programmes. The study did not explore the specific content of school counselling preparation programmes across Australia, so it is possible that certain curricula or units focussed on trauma-informed practices, but participants did not recognise it or think it was enough to prepare them to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools. It is important to consider the sample may have overrepresented individuals interested in trauma-informed practices and, therefore, have been more willing to volunteer.
Further investigation is imperative to establish the viewpoints of school counselling educators, supervisors and school counsellors on what it means for a school counsellor to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools. Such an endeavour can significantly contribute to refinement and implementation of trauma-informed practices within school counselling preparation programmes. And such a refinement of school counselling preparation programmes to explicitly include trauma-informed practices, will in turn equip graduates with the skills and knowledge to lead and implement trauma-informed practices into their work competently.
Conclusion
This Australian study highlights important findings for both Australian school counselling preparation programmes, and international school counselling preparation programmes. This study highlights the importance of a holistic approach to preparing school counsellors to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools. To do so means it is essential that school counselling educators themselves are trained in trauma-informed practices and that school counsellor educators undertake curriculum mapping to see explicitly where they are teaching school counsellors in training how to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools. To do so also means the School Based Family Counselling meta-model must be taught within school counselling preparation programmes and then implemented by school counsellors once working in schools. School counsellors must know how to work across each system in a student’s school, family and community life. Only then will school counsellors will be prepared to lead and implement trauma-informed practices in schools.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: $1,000 from the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Queensland University of Technology
Ethical approval
Researcher received full ethical approval before data collection for this study commenced.
