News & Events
Past Traumatic Experiences and Increased Anxiety About the Future Taking Larger Toll on Today’s College Students
City Tech counselor Paul Schwartz, LCSW, MA, has been invited by the CUNY Regional Student Affairs Conference to repeat his presentation, "Helping Students in the Now Who Have Been Traumatized in the Past," made in February at the National Conference of the American College Counseling Association (ACCA) in Savannah, Georgia. Attended by 75 counselors from colleges and universities nationwide, the 90-minute presentation was rated by many participants as a highlight of the annual ACCA gathering. The CUNY conference, which attracts college counselors and other professionals from throughout the northeast region and beyond, will be held on May 2, 2008, at the York Performing Arts Center/York College in Queens.
Photo by Yue Chen
“The presentation focuses on ways of more effectively helping college students who have been traumatized in the past or who are experiencing considerable anxiety about the future,” says Schwartz. “Especially in our post-9/11 environment, trauma response is a salient, critical issue facing college counselors everywhere. We are finding that the traumatic effects of many past and current national and international events, coupled with the more commonplace ‘stressors’ that routinely impact the lives of today's college students call for a level and range of counseling responses seldom if ever required in the past.”
According to Schwartz, “The times demand that colleges provide increased services in the area of post-trauma counseling, including the development of more effective debriefing interventions. The impact of 9/11 at home, ongoing strife and warfare in many parts of the world, and the long-term disruptions and displacements stemming from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are taking a discernable toll on today’s youth. Moreover, the negative effects of domestic violence, gang violence, childhood sexual abuse and other forms of personal traumatic experience are increasingly evident in the lives of today’s students. Better techniques and additional resources are needed to assist counselors everywhere in helping students cope with unresolved trauma and the pressures of everyday life.
"Helping Students in the Now Who Have Been Traumatized in the Past" goes beyond mere classifications and the identification of symptoms, to detail an array of attitudes, principles and approaches that college counselors need to be fully familiar with to provide optimal remedies to the stresses experienced by students today. Various proven strengths-based approaches that draw upon Schwartz’ trauma response counseling experience are a major focus of the presentation.
“College students today,” Schwartz adds, “face mounting challenges with respect to academic achievement and personal and family responsibilities as well as future concerns stemming from uncertainties about career opportunities and economic stability, personal and family safety and security. Real or imagined dangers stemming from events like the ‘War on Terror’ and recent school and shopping mall shootings as well as past traumatic personal experiences doubtless complicate and disrupt the potential of many students at all levels of education. This is a serious and growing problem that needs to be better addressed.”
Schwartz’ presentation at the CUNY Regional Student Affairs Conference will help college counselors develop insight and skills related to best practices in identifying and assisting students who have suffered past traumas. “Participants will better understand the prevalence and impact of past traumatic experiences on today's students,” he says. “They also will better understand the intersection between a student's identity, connection with his or her school and academic performance, and past traumatic experiences that remain unresolved. The presentation will acquaint counselors with principles, skills and the latest proven strategies to help students whose lives have been negatively affected by such experiences. These strategies often draw on strengths-based natural resiliencies that can help a student cope with current challenges, academic and other stresses, and fear and anxiety about the future.”
As faculty advisor to City Tech’s Student Veterans Club, Schwartz routinely encounters the toll that past traumatic experiences are taking on this group of today’s college student population. “Many veterans returning to civilian life and college after a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan clearly show what stress and trauma can do to a person,” Schwartz adds. “While former military personnel frequently bring a high level of discipline, determination and purpose to their educational pursuits, much of what they have experienced in warfare has left them with psychological wounds that do not easily heal. It’s a shame, really, that many veterans are hesitant to let their fellow students know that they served in Iraq or Afghanistan because of growing public disapproval of these military actions. They often find it necessary to conceal from others what has been so large and defining a part of their adult lives. This is a profound source of stress for many.”
03/10/08
