In recent years, educators have been faced with unique challenges and have had to make continuous and considerable changes to better serve their students all while navigating their own professional and personal stressors. For educators who support students and communities impacted by traumatic events, they can also be vulnerable to the effects of trauma. As some educators struggle to cope with both professional and personal challenges, these struggles can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, or symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. Understanding the signs and utilizing both organizational and personal secondary trauma prevention strategies can help educators lessen its risks. The NCTSN offers self-care and secondary traumatic stress resources to help school administrators support the well-being of educators and to help educators reduce the impact of stressors.

Pause-Reset-Nourish (PRN)* to Promote Wellbeing: Use as Needed to Care for Your Wellness!
Provides information about the specific self-care strategy of Pause-Reset-Nourish, or PRN. This fact sheet acknowledges the levels of stress that professionals may be currently experiencing and offers a way to address unwanted symptoms and promote and replenish wellbeing and enhance resilience. 

Self-Care for Educators
This tip sheet is a part of the Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators and offers tips for recognizing the signs of secondary traumatic stress and practicing self-care.

Secondary Traumatic Stress for Educators Webinar
Describes risk factors and signs of secondary traumatic stress in educators, as well as techniques for prevention and self-care.

Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for School Staff
Discusses how challenging financial circumstances may affect you, other school staff, students, and their families and provides specific ways to help.

Taking Care of Yourself
This tip sheet is a part of the Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators and includes information on working with traumatized children, and self-care tips for school staff who work with any child who has experienced trauma.

Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) Field Operations Guide
This version of Psychological First Aid gives school administrators, educators, and staff practical assistance to meet immediate needs and concerns, reduce distress, and foster adaptive coping in the wake of a disaster or stressful event(s). The manual includes in-depth information about each of the eight core actions and accompanying handouts for administrators, school staff, educators, students, and parents and caregivers.

Psychological First Aid for Schools Webinar
Describes the fundamentals of Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S). This webinar offers information on how PFA-S helps to reduce the distress that school communities can experience after a disaster or violent event. It discusses the importance of working within the school structure and system; how the teachers, staff, and administrators can use PFA-S to prepare for and respond to a disaster or violent event; and how to support the school community as a whole, including working with students, staff, and families.