Trauma Awareness

Learn about how stress affects the brain and the resilience scale in this scientifically based video (7:42) created by the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative in consultation with the FrameWorks Institute and the Harvard Center on the Developing Child.

This video is a 50 minute presentation by Dr. Nicole Sherren. The video shares how brains are built: what kind of experiences promote healthy brain architecture, what kind of experiences derail it, and how these experiences affect learning and health outcomes across the life span. (site description)

This four minute animated video presents the core story of brain development. Learn how childhood experiences can affect our brains and how we sometimes need our brains to function like 'air traffic control'.

In this TED talk, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the "repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain."

What goes on inside a body that is chronically stressed? Our hard-wired stress response is designed to give us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. However, when activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part of our body.

This TED video examines the science behind post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Learn how traumatic experiences can linger, causing symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and negative thoughts that interfere with everyday life.

What is a trauma-informed school? This three-minute video describes some of the ways that a school can be trauma-informed.

This 10 minute video from the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative features a school that is becoming trauma-sensitive through a district-wide effort.