Evaluator perspective: An interview with Nicole Tujague

Nicole tells us her story of coming to a decision to work more closely in the Indigenous space. She embarked on a journey of self-discovery which resulted in not only understanding herself but also her own people. One of her important discoveries was finding the Australian Evaluation Society (AES) and meeting people of like minds. She questioned projects where measurement is determined by the funder, not by the Indigenous people who are being impacted by the evaluation, and on the programmes which affect their lives. She has also realised that it is not enough to do evaluation in a culturally safe way, but that evaluation should be culturally safe and trauma informed. You need to understand the trauma histories of people and communities and that knowledge needs to be embedded in your methodology. Without that knowledge, you cannot expect to understand the community and its issues or produce outcomes that are healing.

A Preliminary Evaluation of the Unified Protocol among Trauma-Exposed Adults with and without PTSD

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Unified Protocol (UP)—a mechanistically transdiagnostic psychological treatment—provides benefit to individuals with a range of trauma histories, psychological difficulties, and diagnostic comorbidity. Using data from a sequential multiple-assignment randomized trial (SMART), this exploratory analysis included a sample of 69 community-recruited adults seeking outpatient mental health treatment. We examined reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms and changes in aversive and avoidant reactions to intense emotions—the UP’s putative mechanism—first by comparing individuals with and without trauma histories and then specifically among participants with PTSD. Findings suggest that the UP may lead to similar improvements in clinical diagnostic severity, anxiety, and depression among patients with trauma exposure as those without trauma exposure. Roughly half of participants with PTSD demonstrated reductions in PTSD clinical severity, anxiety, depression, and distress aversion, suggesting the UP may be an efficacious treatment for people with PTSD and comorbid conditions.

Trauma and the Middle School Brain

This chapter examines the effect of trauma on brain development and the subsequent impact in the academic setting. Childhood trauma is overwhelmingly common and has repeatedly been noted to have serious detrimental effects on children's developmental trajectories. Adolescents with trauma histories have a number of affected skills of which educators need to be especially aware. These skills include learning, memory, executive function, and emotion regulation. Fortunately, educators have a number of instructional practices at their disposal to help children with trauma histories, including classroom-level strategies like stimulus variation and structure and routine, coupled with high expectations. It is suggested that trauma-informed practices be implemented at the classroom and school-wide levels.