Strategies for Teaching About Trauma to Graduate Social Work Students

Abstract

Actual exposure to the details of trauma within the classroom setting is considered to be a necessary part of preparation for social work practice with traumatized clients. This article reviews the reasons why it is important for faculty to understand students’ possible reactions to exposure to trauma content. One factor believed to increase the risk of vicarious traumatization is a personal history of trauma. To determine the actual prevalence of early trauma in the lives of MSW students, 162 MSW students at one metropolitan university completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Survey during their final semester. The results show that nearly 80% of the students reported at least 1 ACE and that 27.3% had 4 or more ACEs. Only 22.4% of the students had no adverse experiences. Taking these findings into account, this article explores 13 teaching strategies that are intended to reduce the risk of vicarious traumatization that may interfere with learning. In addition, recommendations are presented for creating a trauma-informed implicit social work curriculum.