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Healthy Relationships for Student Well-being

Gain the knowledge and skills to build authentic, empathetic, and resilient relationships with students.

Why do we need to focus on relationships?

This course will equip school staff and leaders with the knowledge and skills to build authentic, empathetic, and resilient relationships with students through a trauma-engaged education framework and emphasis on social emotional learning with the following course content:

  • Data on the importance of positive adult-student relationships and their impacts on student behavior, motivation, engagement, and achievement
  • Connections to trauma prevention and response principles and best practices, environmental risk and protective factors, and educator satisfaction and retention
  • Components of a positive, healthy, and trusting adult-student relationship
  • Activities for staff and educator reflection and self-awareness building Strategies for establishing healthy communication patterns with students

Who is this for?

K-12 and higher education administrators, educators, and school staff (e.g., non-instructional aides, paraprofessionals, school counselors, nursing staff, librarians, instructional and intervention specialists, food service and security personnel, or any adults who have interactions or responsibilities involving students).

Contact

Eyenga Bokamba

Director, Minnesota Institute for Trauma-Informed Education
  • Course Details
  • What You'll Learn
  • Course Details

    Format: Online, self-guided, self-paced

    Cost: $150

    CEUs (Continuing Education Units): 1

    Length of Course: 5-6 hours

    Time limit: Upon registering, students have one year to complete the course.

    What You'll Learn

    When you've completed the course, you will be able to:

    • Define healthy relationships - what they are and in what contexts do they occur
    • Recognize that youth mental health is seen as a major health concern in the United States and Minnesota today
    • Identify physiological effects and overall benefits of feeling connected to (and heard by) others
    • Link physiological effects of feeling (dis)connected to others to educational performance and mental well-being
    • Envision families and schools as locales where students learn how to engage in and promote connections with others

    Course Details

    Format: Online, self-guided, self-paced

    Cost: $150

    CEUs (Continuing Education Units): 1

    Length of Course: 5-6 hours

    Time limit: Upon registering, students have one year to complete the course.

    What You'll Learn

    When you've completed the course, you will be able to:

    • Define healthy relationships - what they are and in what contexts do they occur
    • Recognize that youth mental health is seen as a major health concern in the United States and Minnesota today
    • Identify physiological effects and overall benefits of feeling connected to (and heard by) others
    • Link physiological effects of feeling (dis)connected to others to educational performance and mental well-being
    • Envision families and schools as locales where students learn how to engage in and promote connections with others

    Course Authors

    Dr. Trout is an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education in the School of Education. She started at the University of St. Thomas in 2012 and brings with her more than 35 years of teaching experience spanning pre-school through doctoral level classrooms in urban, suburban and rural settings. Dr. Trout received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2010 in Curriculum and Instruction in Social Studies and Teacher Education. She is a Fellow at the Minnesota Institute for Trauma-Informed Education, and she specializes in care theory and effective teaching practices that cultivate relationships. Dr. Trout grew up near Chicago and has a BA in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College and an MA in Education from Stanford University.


    Dr. Herrera, a licensed school psychologist, is on a mission to ensure psychologically safe learning communities through prevention and psychoeducation, facilitating environments in which children can flourish. She is Founder and CEO of Herrera Psychology, which provides private therapy and evaluations, and Telement, which provides in-school and virtual youth mental health services. Dr. Herrera is a strong advocate for diverse student populations. She has spoken nationally on topics related to gifted students and globally on how to engage neurodivergent learners.