I just talked to a friend who is finishing up her MSW at UC Berkeley this spring. She is in a state of paralysis thinking of how much work she has to do over the next six weeks. A teacher colleague told me that she is in a state of "permanent overwhelm." A colleague at the health center was in tears this week from work-related stress. Whew. It's tough out there! Somehow it's easier to find words of comfort and support for these colleagues and friends than it is to access that same counsel when I'm flailing...

Been thinking a lot about historical/generational trauma--both from the coursework, films and reading in SW540, and learning and conversations through my work. Last week I was able to attend our CA School Health Center Association annual conference in Long Beach. A colleague and I went to a pre-conference seminar on "trauma informed care" that really spoke to our experience at the high school working with young people. I'm on a mission now to do education with our faculty to help them understand that the "over-the-top" behavior they are up against in a lot of their classes is rooted in trauma. I want to offer them specific skills to work more effectively with young people in these moments that would support everyone involved to have more positive outcomes--e.g. young people getting connected with support rather than continuing a cycle of punitive response/punishment that doesn't offer any opportunity to address the underlying causes of these behaviors. And also for teachers to avoid the awful battles that take away from their instructional efficacy in the classroom. I'll post as  I move that work forward.