Fostering Trauma-informed Relationships in Education: Recognition, Respect and Remembering

In this chapter, we explore the notion of trauma-informed relationships in social work education and develop a framework for educators and students when creating trauma-informed teaching and learning environments within university settings. To do this, we explore three interrelated principles. The first is the recognition of lived experience. The second is respecting personhood. The third is re-membering, which refers to the social processes of meaning-making that can soothe the severity of traumatic affect and bring about positive change. The discussion is premised on the idea that people are more than their experience of trauma, and, while we acknowledge the ways that trauma can debilitate and dehumanize, relating to the person who lies beyond the experience of trauma continues to be crucial for trauma-informed pedagogy.