About us

UCSB’s Trauma-Informed Pedagogy project acknowledges the university
”learning environment” as often traumatizing and recognizes that many of our students are dealing with sexual, racial, and anthropocenic forms of trauma—not to mention a global pandemic—when they enter the classroom. These realities can make it difficult for students to focus their minds. The Trauma-Informed Pedagogy project aims to explore pedagogical interventions and engage with scholarship that will enable us as students and educators to foster trauma-informed classroom environments that are inclusive, equitable, and supportive.

You find us on Instagram and Twitter at @ucsb_tip

See our Events page for future and past events, and check out our Student Projects page for brilliant art about trauma and healing by our students!

UCSB’s Trauma-Informed Pedagogy project was started by Professor Julie Carlson and Professor Sowon Park of UCSB’s English Department in Spring 2022. Acknowledging the rise in statistics of student trauma, anxiety levels, and an increase in Disabled Students Program (DSP) protocols that were heightened during to the COVID-19 pandemic, they realized that there is an urgent need for the university and its educators to address how racial and economic disparities emerge as forms of trauma within the student population.

After applying for and receiving funding from UCSB’s portion of the University of California Office of the President’s (UCOP) funding initiative for equity and mental health, Dr. Carlson and Dr. Park founded UCSB’s Trauma-Informed Project under the auspices of the Literature and Mind program. Aili Pettersson Peeker, a PhD candidate in UCSB’s English Department, soon joined the project as a Research Coordinator.

virtual programs

IF YOU WISH TO BECOME A PART OF the TRAUMA-INFORMED pedagogy project, or if you have any questions about our work, PLEASE LEAVE US A MESSAGE VIA THE FORM BELOW—ALL COMMENTS AND INQUIRIES ARE WELCOME!