It’s Not Drama, It’s Trauma: A Guide to Empathetic Trauma-informed Engagement with Foster Youth for Higher Education Professionals.

From the lens of a former foster youth now educator, this book is a guide to aid in the healing of foster youth. There are many books on trauma, but few dedicated to the plight of foster youth. Our foster youth need a sense of love, belonging and safety. As students pursue higher education, they need the adults in their lives to be more empathetically trauma-informed and recognize their behaviors are not a manifestation of a dramatic attitude but are a result of the many layers of trauma they have experienced. This guide also provides support to the professionals who work with foster youth that may be at risk of secondary traumatic stress.While this edition of the book is targeting those working with foster youth, anyone reading the book can benefit from the insightful look at trauma and how it can damage the brain or be an impetus for mental health problems, its impact on learning and development of relationships with self and others. Because we have all experienced traumatic or stressful events, the author shares analogs and strategies which cause reflection on your own quirky behaviors that may be a result of trauma. She also directs you on how to have a conversation to show concern without asking What’s wrong with you? which causes people to respond defensively.Being trauma-informed is more than just being able to recite the principles of trauma-informed engagement. The author believes it is a mindset and challenges you to see the behaviors of others through a trauma-lens. Through this lens we can build healthy relationships.