Chapter 9: Trauma-Inclusive Programming Practices

Trauma is carried with people throughout life, including into the programming or event spaces offered within institutions of higher education (IHE). Trauma was once thought to be separate from the usual human experiences, which is an unfortunate and inaccurate assessment given the world we are living in (Herman, 1997). Trauma is not uncommon. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA, 2011) found that 60% of adults from varying identities (i.e., race, ethnicity, gender) report experiencing abuse or other adversity during childhood, and 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before the age of 4. Herman (1997) stated, “Traumatic events are extraordinary, not because they occur rarely, but rather because they overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life” (p. 33). As university community members have likely had traumatic experiences, trauma-inclusive programming is recommended in IHE. Trauma-inclusive is a term used to draw attention to trauma as an aspect of human experience or identity which may lead to feelings of exclusion within universities. Trauma-inclusive programming practices are defined as programming practices that consider trauma as an invisible, or visible injury, carried with a person and possibly impacting an attendee’s program attendance, engagement, and postexperience. Traumainclusivity strives to mitigate potential retraumatization and accepts the biological imprint on the brain and body that trauma makes. Traumainclusive programming practices require intentionality in all aspects of programming, including event management, advertising/marketing materials, and presentation modalities.