Social Emotional Wellness

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• Social Emotional Wellness
• In Schools

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What We Will Cover This Morning

• MBI
• Big ideas
• Critical components
• Administrator role
• IERS
• Who we are and what we do
• Trauma-informed Positive Behavior Supports
  (TI-PBS)
• Students, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR)
• Secondary Traumatic Stress and Self Care
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
  (ASIST)
• Bullying Prevention and Internet Safety
• Psychological First Aid (PFA)

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What is PBIS/PBS/MBI????

• PBIS is a method for defining, teaching, and
  supporting appropriate student behaviors to
  create positive school environments while
  providing a continuum of positive behavioral
  support for all students within a school
  community.

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MBI

• Helps students increase positive behaviors and
  decrease negative behaviors
• Supports students in behavior change rather than
  controlling behavior
• Helps build positive relationships between
  students, staff, and families and helps build a
  sense of community

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Implementing MBI

• 3 tiered system to provide academic (RtI) and
  behavioral (MBI) supports that are consistent,
  proactive and preventative
• Establish school environments that support long
  term success of effective practices 
• Focus on prevention and instruction
• For all students
• Typically a 3 to 5 year process

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CONTINUUM OF POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT
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Supporting Social Competence and Academic
Achievement
4 MBI Elements
OUTCOMES
Supporting Decision Making
DATA
SYSTEMS
Supporting Staff Behavior
PRACTICES
Supporting Student Behavior
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What is Your Role in MBI?
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Administrative Leadership

• Feature Purpose
• Administrators publicly support the MBI process
  in their school/district and community
• Active members of the MBI team
• Provide ongoing leadership and support leadership
  of other team members
• Feature Outcomes
• Administrators provide resources to implement and
  sustain MBI
• Indicate commitment by assuring MBI is one of top
  3 goals/missions, regularly attending meetings,
  and providing regular opportunities for
  dissemination of MBI related topics to staff

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Examples of Administrative Leadership

• Include MBI in School Improvement Plan
• Write MBI into school policy
• Serve as gatekeeper for high yield strategies
• Provide support/training for all staff
• Counsel and support teachers not implementing MBI
• Provide financial support/time for MBI team and
  activities
• Establish a representative MBI team including
  teacher leaders, support staff, etc.
• Recruit and support the MBI Coach

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Examples of Administrative Leadership

• Collaborate with team to establish process for
  communicating to whole school about MBI
• Prioritize time for MBI team members and
  acknowledge their efforts
• Share public support for MBI with all staff,
  students, and families
• Make MBI a standard faculty meeting agenda item
• Provide ongoing info about MBI goals and
  activities to key school groups

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Examples of Administrative Leadership

• Expect teachers to list social skills lessons on
  posted class schedule and to post classroom
  expectations, common routines, and lesson of the
  week/month
• Support the establishment of a system to provide
  specific positive feedback to students when they
  meet expectations
• Support teachers in using the building process
  for addressing behavior violations
• Establish a data collection and reporting process
  that provides complete and accurate time out of
  instruction information
• Regularly use data for decision-making

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Administrative Commitment

• Commitment and support begins at the district
  level
• District leaders need to be informed and
  dedicated to the implementation of MBI
• Building administrators are expected to be
  actively involved in implementation
• A majority of school staff needs to support
  implementation of MBI

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Education Revolution Preview
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Universal MBI Strategies

• Building positive relationships
• Define expected behaviors
• Teach expected behaviors
• Encourage expected behaviors
• Discourage problem behaviors
• Data-based decision making

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Define Expected Behavior

• 3 to 5 overarching values
• Creates a common language and vision
• Define what the expectations look like in your
  school
• Matrix becomes The Behavior Curriculum in your
  building
• Gives specific observable examples
• Keeps expectations positive

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Teach Expected Behaviors

• Once you have developed school-wide expectations,
  it is not enough to just post the words on the
  walls of the classroom
• Youve got to
• TEACH THEM!

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Encourage Expected Behavior

• Positive feedback41 ratio
• Rates of positive interactions
• Reinforcement systemsfor ALL kids
• Precorrects
• Active supervision

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Research

• Acknowledging positive behaviors coincided with
  a 62 reduction in office discipline referrals
• 80 of behavior problems can be eliminated by
  increasing the frequency of praise statements

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Discouraging Problem Behavior

• We will still use negative consequences in
  schools
• Why?...Because they are effective for many
  students
• BUT too often we keep using negative
  consequences when they are not effective in
  changing behavior
• Happens once shame on student Happens three,
  four, ten times shame on me

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Defining Problem Behaviors

• Operationally define
• The critical feature is that all staff agree on
  mutually exclusive and operationally defined
  labels and definitions
• Once defined whole school trained on the
  definitions

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A reason to define problem behaviors
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Looking At The Big Picture!

• Instructional Time Lost
• Each minor incident takes an administrator about
  25 minutes to process
• Students are losing instructional time when minor
  incidents are handled in the office
• Classes are interrupted whenever the teacher has
  to write up a student and get them to the office

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Major Discipline Incidents

• Defined
• Discipline incidents that must be handled by the
  administrationthese may include, but are not
  limited to physical fights, property damage,
  drugs, weapons, tobacco, etc.
• Purpose
• Once problem behaviors are operationally defined,
  it is essential that the team distinguish the
  major discipline incidents from the minor to
  determine the appropriate consequences

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Minor Discipline Incidents

• Defined
• Discipline incidents that can be handled by the
  classroom teacher and usually do not warrant a
  discipline referral to the office. These may
  include, but are not limited to tardiness to
  class, lack of classroom materials, incomplete
  classroom assignments, gum chewing, etc.
• Purpose
• To determine appropriate consequences and where
  the consequences should be delivered

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Discipline Referral Process

• This process must be defined, taught, and agreed
  upon with all staff, and must include definitions
  for
• major discipline incidents
• minor discipline incidents
• emergency or crisis incidents
• a continuum of discipline procedures

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Why Arent Traditional Consequences Effective?

• Not aligned with school rules/ expectations
• Not aligned with whats being taught and
  reinforced
• Not related to the function of the behavior!
• If a student tries to avoid a task by disrupting
  and the teacher sends him to the office or to
  time out, then
• the behavior has served its function
• the task has been avoided, and
• the student will see no need to change

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Sample minor consequences

• Reteach the expectations/rules
• Restitution/ Apology of Action
• Student contracts/conferences
• Problem-solving
• Provide choices
• Failure to earn a privilege
• Consequences that teach

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Corrective Consequences

• Assign corrective consequences based on the
  purpose/motivation (function) of the problem
  behavior
• Get attention, activities, objects, etc.
• Avoid attention, activities, tasks, etc.
• Use consequences that teach
• Example tardy 1st bell monitor, tally
  instructional time lost

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All consequences should include teaching

• Staff trained to immediately correct and respond
  consistently
• Name problem behavior
• State school-wide expected behavior
• Model expected behavior
• Ask student to demonstrate behavior
• Provide acknowledgement to student

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• Sample Schoolwide Consequences
• Prevention activities reminders,
  precorrections, practice expectations,
  reinforcement systems
• Warning 1 Enforceable statements
• Warning 2 Repeated redirect
• Warning 3 Take space in class/reteach a.s.a.p.
• Office Referral R1 Parent call/conference
• Office Referral R2 Parent call/conference
• Reflection sheet
• Counseling session
• Office Referral R3 Parent call/conference
• Behavior Intervention Plan
• OSS Administrative Decision Drugs/Weapons/F
  ighting

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Points to Remember

• If the number of violations for specific
• misbehaviors continues to increase
• the consequence for that misbehavior is
• not effective
• Reinforcements (at a 4 to 1 ratio)are more
  effective than punishments
• Always ask Is what we are doing working?

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Data-Driven Decision Making

• The concept isnt new
• Using it tenaciously to focus change and evaluate
  effectiveness is new!

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School often functions as a collection of
independent contractors united by a
common parking lot.
Richard DuFour
Using data gets staff working as a team in an
efficient and effective way and provides the
common focus. as opposed to the common
parking lot.
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Data

• Big 5 Reports are generated using ODRs and
  reviewed monthly (number of referrals per day per
  month, location, problem behaviors, time and
  students involved)
• Multiple data sources are used for mapping of
  resources and action planning
• Data used to identify students needing Tier 2
  and/or Tier 3 supports

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Office referrals per day/month
Referrals by problem behavior
Disruption
Lang.
Harass
Defiance
Skip
Cafeteria
1200
Hall
Commons
Class
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CONTINUUM OF POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT
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Institute for Educational Research and Service
(IERS)

• Montana Safe Schools Center
• Bullying prevention
• Suicide prevention
• Psychological First Aid
• Emergency preparedness

• National Native Childrens Trauma Center
• Trauma awareness
• Trauma-informed PBIS
• STAR
• CBITS

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What is Trauma?

• Trauma is
• Not an event, but a response to a stressful
  experience, where ones ability to cope is
  overwhelmed
• Trauma overwhelms the ability to adapt and
  generates feels of helplessness and terror

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Acute vs. Complex Trauma

• Acute Trauma
• A single traumatic event that overwhelms a
  childs ability to cope. (Fitzgerald and Groves)
• Complex Trauma
• The experience of multiple or chronic and
  prolonged, developmentally adverse traumatic
  events, most often of a personal nature (sexual
  or physical abuse, family violence, war,
  community violence) and early life onset.
• These exposures often occur within the childs
  care giving system (Spinazzola, et al)

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A Range of Traumatic Situations

• Automobile accidents
• Life-threatening illness
• Witnessing violence
• Natural disasters
• Terrorism
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Neglect
• Abandonment
• Death or loss of a loved one

• Bullying
• Living in a chronically chaotic environment
• Military deployment
• Substance abuse in caregivers
• Depression or mental health disorder in caregiver
• Intergenerational trauma
• Historical trauma

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Childhood Traumatic Stress

• Childhood traumatic stress occurs when children
  and adolescents are exposed to traumatic events
  or traumatic situations, and when this exposure
  overwhelms their ability to cope with what they
  have experienced. (NCTSN)
• It occurs because the event(s) pose(s) a serious
  threat to
• The individuals life or physical integrity
• The life of a family member or close friend
• Ones surrounding environment

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What happens with children that experience
traumatic events?

• Resilient Children 2/3 of children will not
  suffer child traumatic stress from experiencing
  an adverse childhood event
• 1/3 will experience symptoms of childhood
  traumatic stress
• One of every four children attending school has
  been exposed to a traumatic event

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Responses to Trauma

• Hyperarousal
• Feeling scared for no reason
• Feeling crazy or out of control
• Being on guard feeling like something bad is
  going to happen
• Jumping when there is a loud noise
• Re-experiencing
• Nightmares or trouble sleeping
• Thinking about the trauma all the time
• Flashbacks
• Intrusive thoughts
• Sense of Foreshortened future
• Withdraw from family/friends
• Decrease in interests/activities

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Responses to Trauma

• Changes in affect
• Feeling anger, sometimes for no reason
• Feeling shame
• Feeling guilty
• Feeling sadness/grief/loss
• Avoidance and Numbing
• Wanting to NOT think or talk about the trauma
• Avoiding places, people, or things that are
  connecting with the event
• Not being able to remember parts of what happened
• Having physical health problems and complaints

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Impact on Learning

• Lower GPA
• Increased drop-out rates
• More suspensions or expulsions
• Decreased reading ability
• Adversely affect memory and attention
• Spacing out

• Interfere with effective problem-solving
• Result in overwhelming frustration towards school
• Reduce ability to focus, concentrate, organize,
  and process information
• Negative attitude
• Diminished language and communication skills

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Impact on Behavior in School

• Lack of capacity for emotional regulation
• Hyperalert
• Focus on non-verbals of others
• In a constant state of survival mode
• Difficulty describing feelings and internal
  experiences

• Poor impulse control
• Use of aggressive behavior
• Self soothing behaviors
• Dissociation
• Difficulty complying with rules
• Replaying of trauma
• Difficulty communicating

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Adaptive Responses to Trauma
Rest Vigilance Freeze Flight Fight
Hyper-arousal Continuum Rest Vigilance Resistance Defiance Aggression
Disassocia-tive Continuum Rest Avoidance Compliance Dissociation Fainting
Mental State Calm Alert Alarm Fear Terror
Perry, 2009
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Understanding Trauma
It begins with the ACE Study The Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the
largest investigations ever conducted on the
links between childhood maltreatment and
later-life health and well-being.
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ACE Study Questions

• Did you experience physical abuse?
• Did you experience emotional abuse?
• Did you experience contact sexual abuse? 
• Was there an alcoholic or drug-user in your
  household? 
• Was there a member of your household imprisoned?
   
• Was there a member of your household that was
  mentally ill, or did you have a depressed parent
  or institutionalized family member? 
• Did you witness your mother being treated
  violently?
• Were both of your biological parents absent from
  the home?

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Looking Through the Trauma-sensitive Lens.

• Not realizing that children exposed to
  inescapable, overwhelming stress may act out
  their pain, that they may misbehave, not listen
  to us, or seek our attention in all the wrong
  ways, can lead us to punish these children for
  their misbehaviorIf only we knew what happened
  last night, or this morning before she got to
  school, we would be shielding the same child
  were now reprimanding.On Playing A Poor Hand
  Well Mark Katz

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What is helpful

• Understand traumatic responses in children
• Depersonalize the childs behavior
• Identify, own, and give permission to have
  feelings regarding stressful interactions
• Identify those reactions
• Modify those reactions

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Trauma-informed Positive Behavioral Interventions
and Supports
FEW
SOME
ALL
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Universal Strategies for ALL students

• Build positive, trusting relationships with
  students and families
• Create safe, nurturing environments
• Provide consistent, predictable routines
• Create clear behavioral expectations
• Provide specific, positive feedback often

• Teach behaviors and social skills
• Use reinforcement systems
• Provide pre-corrects (reminders) and actively
  supervise
• Use consistent consequences that teach

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Universal Strategies for ALL students

• Model appropriate behavior
• Create behavior support teams
• Consult with mental health professionals
• Establish and practice emergency procedures
• Trauma awareness training for all staff

• Psycho-education Students Trauma and Resilience
  (STAR)
• Self-care training and support teams for staff
• STS mitigation
• Data collection
• why is the behavior occurring?
• Are these interventions working?

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Targeted Interventions for SOME students

• Provide choices (build sense of control)
• Provide warnings before changes
• Intensive social skills instruction (relaxation
  techniques, coping, anger management, etc.)
• Check-in/Check-Out program

• Mentorship program
• Behavior Support Team
• Peer network
• Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Trauma in
  Schools (CBITS) groups

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Individualized Interventions for a FEW

• Individualized strategies to address individual
  symptoms (aggression, impulsivity, short
  attention span, social isolation, etc.)
• Trauma focused individualized counseling or
  therapy (TF-CBT)
• Behavior support team connects student to
  counselor or therapist, works with family

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Why Students, Trauma, and Resiliency (STAR)

• Universal Strategy
• Can be lead by educators
• Many students are exposed to violence and trauma
• Based upon 2009 screening results, 78 of middle
  school students indicated the need for a trauma
  intervention

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Goals of STAR

• Increase Coping Strategies
• Understanding of stress, trauma, and loss
• Self-care
• Relaxation
• Utilizing support systems
• Problem-Solving
• Helpful thoughts
• Feelings Identification

• Decrease effects of trauma exposure
• Feelings of isolation
• Anxiety level
• Avoidance
• Impulsivity
• Negative thinking
• Hypervigilance

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STAR Overview

• Curriculum based
• 4 lessons 1 per week
• Based upon CBT
• Designed for use by educators
• Not therapy, but psychoeducational
• Designed for use in the classroom
• Recommend use of co-facilitators
• Based upon evidence-based CBITS

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Lesson 1 Education and Coping Strategies

• Objectives
• Pre-Group Assessments
• Provide education
• Validate experiences
• Help student recognize signs of stress
• Teach relaxation skills
• Encourage healthy coping skills

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Lesson 2 Feelings and Thoughts

• Objectives
• Review practice
• Increase feelings identification
• Link thoughts and feelings
• Identify and challenge thinking errors
• Decrease impulsivity

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Lesson 2
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Model (Langley
and Dean 2004)
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Lesson 3 Facing Avoidance and Anxiety

• Objectives
• Review practice
• Explain avoidance
• Face and decrease anxiety

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Lesson 4 Social Problem-Solving and Increasing
Support

• Objectives
• Review activities
• Identify link between thoughts and behaviors
• Decrease impulsivity by identifying pros and cons
  of decisions
• Identify resources
• Identify circles of support

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August 2011 STAR Training
Date School District Trainers Time
August 19 Frazer Deb and Marilyn 8 1230p.m.
August 23 Lame Deer Deb and Erin 8 1230p.m.
August 25 Pryor Deb and Erin 8 1230p.m.
August 26 Lodge Grass Deb and Erin 8 1230p.m.
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Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Trauma in
Schools (CBITS)

• Based on cognitive behavior therapy
• Evidence-based
• 10 session group counseling protocol
• Each session builds on previous and allows for
  practice
• 1to 3 individual sessions
• Parent and teacher education sessions

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• Secondary Traumatic Stress Overview

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Secondary Traumatic Stress Defined

• The natural and consequent behaviors and
  emotions resulting from knowing about a
  traumatizing event experienced by a significant
  other, the stress resulting from helping or
  wanting to help a traumatized or suffering
  person. (Figley, 1995a)

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Secondary Trauma Signs

• The signs of secondary stress include those for
  PTSD
• Intrusive thoughts or images
• Avoidance
• Nightmares, flashbacks
• Increased startle response
• Difficulty concentrating
• Difficulty sleeping
• Anxiety
• Changes in the way one views the world
• Denial and detachment from clients/students and,
  alternatively, an over-identification with
  clients/students.

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What Situations Increase the Risk of Secondary
Trauma?

• Being overwhelmed
• Being isolated
• Feeling disorganized
• Feeling helpless
• Personal history of trauma and/or depression

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Important!!

• Secondary traumatic stress is a NORMAL reaction
  to ABNORMAL circumstances
• Secondary traumatic stress is a NORMAL reaction
  to ABNORMAL circumstances
• Secondary traumatic stress is a NORMAL reaction
  to ABNORMAL circumstances

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STS Survey

• OPI contracted with IERS/NNCTC to develop and
  deliver STS survey
• Survey delivered to all four SIG Schools
• Teachers
• STS survey also took place in Missoula
• Purpose
• Comprehensively assess improve
• Psychological trauma in staff

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STS Survey Overview

• First of this type of survey completed nationally
  internationally
• First of its kind to systematically assess
• Secondary traumatic stress (STS)
• Job satisfaction
• Peer support among educators

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STS Survey Results

• Many assets from survey
• High number of survey participants
• Respondents average 8 years experience on job
• Lots of job satisfaction
• Staff looks to family peers to help w/coping
• Peer support
• Some staff love their job

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STS Survey Results

• Survey Measured
• Compassion satisfaction feeling positively
  about the work you do (colleagues, setting,
  contributing to society)
• Burnout feeling hopeless, difficulties doing
  job effectively, my efforts make no difference
• Compassion fatigue/secondary trauma secondary
  exposure to traumatic events, repeated stories
• PTSD-like symptoms
• Intrusion recurrent thoughts, images, dreams of
  events
• Avoidance efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings,
  people, activities
• Arousal irritable, constant scanning of
  environment difficult to fall asleep, stay
  asleep, concentrate

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STS Survey Results

• Compassion Satisfaction
• Average for SIG schools 40.35
• Average for normative sample of school personnel
  41.15
• Burnout
• Avg for SIG schools 23.82
• Avg for normative sample 21.40
• Compassion Fatigue/STS
• Avg SIG schools 23.41
• Avg sample 14.17
• Note typically only 25 respond above 17

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STS Survey Results

• Levels of PTSD-like symptoms
• Intrusion 95 exceeded cut off
• Avoidance 84 exceeded cut off
• Arousal 84.9 exceeded cut off
• PTSD-like symptoms overall 74.8 exceeded cut
  off

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STS Survey Results

• 88.2 reported working w/at least mildly
  traumatized students
• 66.5 reported at least occasionally their work
  involves addressing trauma-related issues
  w/students
• 35.3 reported they felt like they were reliving
  their students trauma
• 75.6 reported experiencing at least mild
  depression

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STS Survey Results Peer Support

• Indicates staff looking towards one another for
  support
• How close is your emotional connection to your
  peers in your job?
• 92.4 reported at least somewhat close
• How frequently have you talked w/a co-worker
  about difficulties with your work?
• 84.9 reported at least occasionally

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STS Survey Results Peer Support

• Does your job encourage talking to your
  co-workers about stress difficulties?
• 42 reported yes
• Would you like to see more structured
  opportunities to meet w/ learn from
  peers/co-workers about work-related stress how
  to cope with it?
• 68.9 reported at least somewhat likely

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STS Survey Results Peer Support

• How likely would you be able to talk to a
  professional counselor about job related stress
  or dissatisfaction?
• 60.5 reported at least somewhat likely

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Responsibility of Self-Care

• Self-care is an ethical imperative. We have an
  obligation to our clients-as well as to
  ourselves, our colleagues, and our loved ones-not
  to be damaged by the work we do. Saakvitne and
  Pearlman (1996)

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3 Stages of Coping with STS

• Stage 1 Knowledge Acquisition of information
  and skills
• Stage 2 Recognition Identifying risk and
  exposures
• Stage 3 Responding Application of skills

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Self-Care and STS Mitigation
Body/ Physiological Mind Emotion Behavior
Personal Controlled breathing, muscle relaxation CBT (thoughts, feelings, actions) Self assessment, counseling, socializing Take breaks , eat well, exercise, drink water
Professional Physical environment, ergonomics Professional development, Provided feedback Enjoyable work place, support Organize time, Prepared, Participate
Organizational School facilities taken care of Clearly defined roles, mentorship Support systems, recognition Create policies to support staff needs
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Suicide Prevention

• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training

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Introduction to the River of Suicide
Contributaries of Suicide (no thoughts of
suicide)
Thoughts of Suicide
Suicidal Behavior
Death or Harm
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Structure of the Suicide Intervention Model Page
5
Understanding
reasons? risk?
listen review
Connecting
Assisting
invitations? suicide?
explore ask
safeplan? commitments?
contract follow-up
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Bullying Prevention

• Defining bullying
• Teaching social skills
• Assertiveness, empathy, bystander role, problem
  solving
• Recognize, refuse, report
• Assessment of climate
• Consequences that teach (tie into policies)
• Handling reports
• Coaching
• Cyberbullying and Internet Safety

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Emergency Preparedness

• Examine, modify, enhance emergency policies and
  procedures
• Reference 4 phases of emergency management
• Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery
• Discuss and practice
• Table top activities (school and community)
• Full scale exercises (school and community)

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Contact Information

• Amy Foster Wolferman
• 406-243-5417
• amy.fosterwolferman_at_mso.umt.edu
• Marcy Otten
• 406-243-2262
• marcy.otten_at_mso.umt.edu
• Dale Anderson
• 406-248-3372
• daleanderson_1944_at_msn.com