Abstract

Treating trauma has become an international social justice concern, with increasing numbers of graduate training programs prioritizing how to conceptualize needs and interventions within a trauma-informed framework. Minimal research and guidelines exist for adapting these trauma-informed practices for the local community context. Additionally, trauma-informed practices often fail to consider ongoing structural issues faced by oppressed communities such as poverty and racism. Social work, psychology, and counseling graduate training programs often rely on a cultural competency framework instead of a social justice framework that addresses racism and Whiteness. During our graduate Counseling and School Psychology training program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, we collaborated with stakeholders at a school and community center in San Juan, Puerto Rico to culturally adapt and deliver trainings in trauma-informed practices for staff using an ecological validity framework. Using our work in Puerto Rico as a case study, this paper addresses the cultural adaptation of trauma-informed practices and factors to consider when implementing trauma-informed practices, emphasizing the need for creating safety. Strategies for embedding this trauma-informed work into mental health graduate training programs and recommendations for working with individuals from marginalized groups in school settings are discussed.

Keywords: Trauma-Informed Practices, Social Justice framework, Cultural Adaptation, Ecological Validity Framework, Graduate Training, Safety

How to Cite:

Kurtz, K. D., DeFouw, E. R. & Pagan-Ortiz, M. E., (2021) “Integrating Social Justice Practices into Graduate Training: Collaborating with Stakeholders to Adapt Professional Development in Puerto Rico”, International Journal of School Social Work 6(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/2161-4148.1068