Schools and the trauma of Covid-19

Schools and the trauma of Covid-19

The ongoing situation and school closures as result of Covid-19 have a number of different implications for the education sector. We want to dig deeper into this issues, with help from the experts. This week, Andy Bell, Deputy Chief Executive of the Centre for Mental Health, explores the impact of the coronavirus crisis in terms of trauma, and what this means for schools.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a traumatic experience for people worldwide. While it is primarily a physical health emergency, it is having profound effects on the way we all live and on our mental health. And the ways we respond to that will have a big impact on how well we recover our mental health and heal society in its aftermath.

While the risk of severe coronavirus symptoms is very clearly smaller among children and young people than those in later life, the virus is nonetheless proving traumatic for people of all ages, and there are especial challenges to come for schools and colleges when they are able to welcome back staff, pupils and students.

The impacts of Covid-19 on our mental health are many and varied. While evidence is still in the early stages of being collected and understood on a situation that is still developing day by day, it is clear that the ways we are affected by the pandemic are complex and far from equal. 

For children, the effects of feeling unsafe and being worried about the virus can be significant in themselves. Being isolated and restricted to home can also be challenging for mental health for anyone. But it is an extra challenge for children and young people in homes that are overcrowded, or those who don’t have access to green spaces, and especially those who do not feel safe at home and who are experiencing abuse and violence. For those children, the trauma of Covid-19 risks magnifying the traumatic experiences they have already been through and that may now be greater still as a result of the lockdown.

Many staff and students may experience additional traumas at this time. Having the virus and experiencing severe symptoms or hospital treatment, or being bereaved by it, are traumatic events. Being unable to grieve for someone in normal ways can be especially traumatic. And having a long-term illness (or a family member who does) increases the anxiety both for the here and now, and for the future about how long they will be locked down and what will happen if they become unwell.

For schools and colleges, this presents significant challenges. Creating a safe environment physically is difficult enough. Creating a psychologically safe environment is just as big – and important – a job. But by understanding how traumatic events can affect the thoughts and feelings we have, it is possible to think about how to help people to make the adjustment back to ‘the new normal’.

This is where the idea of being ‘trauma informed’ can help schools. At its heart, being trauma informed means creating a place that feels safe. It is based on building good relationships – for example between children and trusted adults who are reliable and show understanding. It means being able to listen to how children are feeling and to give them the space to process what has happened. 

It also means recognising that for many children, painful and distressing feelings will show up in bad behaviour – and in finding techniques to manage that behaviour that don’t make it worse. A child who has been neglected, for example, may find being placed in isolation in school reminds them of that experience in ways that magnify their distress and escalate problems longer term.

Schools are important communities that will have an invaluable role in helping all of their members to recover from the trauma of Covid-19. That does not mean every school and every teacher has to become a mental health expert overnight. But it does mean that by understanding the psychological impacts of what is happening, schools can help to create safe spaces that enhance a sense of belonging, of community and of healing and that reduce the risk of long-lasting mental health problems in the people who work and learn there.

For more information on trauma, mental health and coronavirus see https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/trauma-mental-health-and-coronavirus

For more information on trauma and behaviour in schools see https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blog/centre-mental-health-blog/beyond-behaviour-restrictive-schools