After a natural disaster like the Los Angeles wildfires, teachers are often a first line of support for children processing trauma — but teachers can also experience what expert Stephen Hydon calls secondary traumatic stress.

In this interview, Hydon, who serves as the director of the School and Educational Settings specialization program at USC’s Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, shares insights on the impact of secondary trauma on educators. Hydon, who has also been a consultant for the U.S. Department of Education, served as president of the American Council on School Work, and led the co-development of an online educator curriculum on secondary traumatic stress with other experts in the field. He’s traveled across the country and world to train schools on secondary traumatic stress, many of which were impacted by natural disasters.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

What is secondary trauma, and how have you seen it manifest in teachers? 

Secondary traumatic stress is like PTSD, but it’s not your trauma. It’s the trauma of someone that you’re working with. In this case, students. Teachers might hear about neglect, abuse, food insecurity, and they’re exposed to it every day. And so they start to show symptoms that are kind of PTSD symptoms. They can’t sleep, or they avoid certain areas or they’re hyper-vigilant. Sometimes it can make them question whether or not they can stay in the profession.

I’ve had teachers say to me, “I just don’t think I can do this anymore.”

What can teachers do to take care of themselves when experiencing secondary trauma after wildfires?

Self-care is so important, but sometimes it’s hard for teachers because they’re givers. They’re taking care of their students, their families, and sometimes it’s hard to take care of themselves.

We know that taking care of well-being across life domains — environmental, social, financial, cognitive and spiritual wellbeing can help mitigate the impact of secondary traumatic stress after wildfires. Taking advantage of vacation, taking your lunch breaks, actually enjoying a good meal, going for a walk outside, making sure you’re checking in–all those things can help remind us that we’re going to be okay. And yes, I might have experienced secondary trauma, but it too will pass.

Read the full article about secondary trauma after the LA wildfires by Daniella Lake at The 74.