Managing secondhand trauma as educators
By Dr. Alexandra Glover-Candee and Dr. Lauren Delisio
Across the United States, educators are faced with a wide variety of challenges. These challenges are ever shifting and oftentimes complex. In recent years, there has been an increase in anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders in school-aged children. Research has shown that as much as “60% of children have been exposed to crime, violence and abuse either directly or indirectly” (Compassion Prison Project, 2025).
Children who have experienced three or more adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are five times more likely to have increased absenteeism, are six times more likely to exhibit behavior issues in academic settings and three times more likely to demonstrate academic failure (Kaiser Permanente, 2025). As a result, the trauma that students experience and bring with them into the classroom can have an impact on educators’ mental health, career satisfaction and overall well-being.
Our goal in this article is to explain the impact of ACEs on student learning and social-emotional growth and well-being, as well as the impact of vicarious trauma, or secondhand trauma, on educators. Finally, we offer specific strategies and suggestions that you can apply to help manage and mitigate these effects on your own mental state and emotional well-being.
Let’s unpack adverse childhood experiences
Childhood trauma includes a spectrum of experiences that affect a child’s growth and development. These ACEs, whether real or perceived, can affect a child’s academic performance, sense of security and trust, and disrupt attachment to trusted adults. Adverse childhood experiences can also lead to physical symptoms like stress, headaches, inattention and chronic absenteeism, along with behavioral symptoms such as withdrawal, fear, anxiety, poor emotional regulation and exaggerated reactions to minor events or stimuli (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network [NCTSN], 2008; Terrasi & Grande de Galarce, 2017, p. 36-37).
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2019), more than two-thirds of children reported at least one traumatic event by the age of 16.
Furthermore, children who experience trauma may display emotional and behavioral challenges that make it harder for them to interact positively with adults (Ogundele, 2018). This type of trauma also affects teachers nationwide. The rise of ACEs in students shows a direct effect on educators’ mental health, job satisfaction and professional retention (Oberg et al., 2023).
Characteristics of vicarious trauma in teachers and other professionals
Vicarious trauma is a critical issue in education today. Vicarious trauma is also referred to as secondhand trauma and can be defined as “the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another” (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2008, p.2).
Vicarious trauma is a common occupational hazard associated with other professions such as mental health, medicine (i.e., doctors and nurses), the military and first responder positions (i.e., police officers, firefighters and EMTs). The characteristics of vicarious trauma often mimic the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Whether or not we are aware, the trauma that our students endure regularly—and then display the residual effects of in our classrooms—directly affects us as educators.
Here are several indicators of vicarious trauma (NCTSN, 2011; Berger, 2022):
- Feelings of burnout, stress and anxiety
- Feelings of disillusion, anger and upset, cynicism and edginess
- Hypervigilance, hopelessness and inability to embrace complexity
- Inability to listen
- Sleeplessness, fear, chronic exhaustion and physical ailments
- Minimizing one’s own psychological distress
- Guilt
Teacher Trauma in New Jersey
Dr. Glover- Candee, one of the authors of this article, recently conducted a study to analyze the effects of vicarious trauma on the mental health and career satisfaction of 25 early elementary (K-3) teachers in an urban elementary school. Participants were asked to complete a 31-question survey, which included questions about their professional satisfaction.
The researcher also conducted interviews with eight of these 25 teachers. The purpose of these interviews was to glean further insight into the lived experiences of teachers who have experienced vicarious trauma, as well as its specific effects on their mental health and emotional well-being. During the interviews, the researcher asked eight questions, such as, “Have you been exposed to traumatic events or stories involving your students?” and “What strategies do you use to cope with the impact of vicarious trauma on your career and instruction?”
The results of this study helped to add to the emerging body of research on vicarious trauma in educators and highlight its significant impact on them.
With regard to mental health, 82.6% of participants felt affected by the traumatic stress of their students, with 80% of participants reporting emotional exhaustion, burnout and frustration. Fifty six percent of participants indicated that exposure to their students’ trauma adversely affected their job satisfaction.
Furthermore, a lack of support from administration and families contributed to burnout and higher attrition rates, as many educators struggled with large caseloads and challenging students. Notably, while many experienced vicarious trauma, they often lacked awareness of the implications for their careers. This raises the question: What actions can educators take to address vicarious trauma while still supporting their traumatized students?
Strategies for helping your students
Integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into your classroom may feel like an added burden, especially when it can already be so overwhelming to fit everything into the school day. However, integrating SEL can significantly enhance the classroom environment and support the well-being of both you and your students—and it does not have to be one “extra” thing you have to somehow squeeze into the day.
SEL can be seamlessly and easily integrated into other content areas and small moments throughout the school day. Teaching SEL equips students with essential skills for adulthood, by focusing on self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, responsible decision-making, problem-solving and relationship-building. By prioritizing these skills, you can boost academic achievement, foster life skills, enhance classroom harmony and build your students’ confidence.
So how can you implement SEL without taking time away from other activities and content areas? It’s simple! You can incorporate SEL lessons into everyday activities, like discussing self-regulation and social awareness while students wait to wash their hands, wait in line for lunch or recess or are transitioning between activities or classes. This approach requires no extra preparation and helps keep students engaged, making it a win-win situation.
Additionally, you can set up a small area or even just one bin in your classroom where students can go to take breaks while learning how to identify their emotions and utilizing self-regulation tools. Many of these tools can be teacher-made or, if purchased, are typically very inexpensive.
You can lead the students through mindfulness activities, such as deep breathing exercises, during transitions from one activity to another. In the sidebar, we have provided a list of useful strategies and resources for easily integrating SEL into your classroom, whether you teach preschoolers or high schoolers, to help create a calmer, more harmonious classroom environment that can benefit everyone involved—including you!
Strategies for helping yourself
After we help our students navigate their own trauma, as well as the often devastating effects of ACEs, we may not realize we should also help ourselves. As the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” So how do you “refill” that cup?
Self-care seems like a term that has been overinflated and overused, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. But self-care for educators is essential. You need to recognize that the work that you do is hard, and it is an emotional role that knows no limits. Finding your tribe or network of support—both within and outside the professional setting—is important.
Seek out professional development or professional resources, such as therapy to help you navigate the effects of teaching students who have been affected by trauma. Begin to identify your own triggers for anxiety, stress and burnout. Finally, plan activities in your free time that allow you to reconnect with nature, connect with family and friends, decompress, and feel calm and relaxed. See below for some tips for self-care, to help you refill your cup!
Issues and solutions
You may be asking yourself:
- What about the classroom management issues that could arise when introducing a variety of new tools that students may take advantage of—or use as toys instead of tools?”
- “How am I going to fit anything else in my already overcrowded classroom?”
- “What if I am a teacher or support staff member who travels from classroom to classroom, or even from school building to school building?”
We have some ideas for navigating those issues as well.
Issues related to classroom space
Are you having difficulties finding space in your classroom for the “calm corner”? Do you share your classroom with other teachers?
Potential solutions
- Create a sensory tool bin or keep them in a large tote bag.
- Store sensory items in a closet.
- Keep items on a cart for easy relocation.
Issues related to misuse of sensory tools
Students using sensory tools inappropriately or in a potentially harmful/dangerous manner. Students using sensory tools when they don’t actually need them or over-using.
Potential solutions
- Students must ask for and obtain a limited number of “break cards” or “chill passes.”
- Limit the number of tools you offer to students (two-three choices)
- Use the “responsive classroom” approach.
- Explicitly teach how and why to use each tool.
Issues related to time
You have so much content to teach. How can you integrate SEL into your already jam-packed day? You spend so much time planning your lessons for the core content areas there’s no time left for planning SEL lessons and activities.
Potential solutions
- Allow students to complete assignments while in the “calm corner” or while using their sensory tools/fidgets/flexible seating.
- Incorporate “teachable moments” in natural environments throughout the day, instead of treating SEL as a separate content area you have to fit in.
- Begin or end class with “Talk Time” or “Class Check-in.” Discuss concerns and how they might be feeling (10-minute “talk time”).
- Individual check ins with Post-it notes/suggestion box.
Issues related to educator buy-in
Other educators who work with your students don’t see the value in the “why” of using sensory tools or have trouble understanding how to use them.
Potential solutions
- Share this article and other resources.
- Show them a student using sensory tools successfully.
- Share your data about individual student triggers.
- Have open, honest conversations about perceptions around these types of supports and concerns related to their use.