Trauma Informed Middle/High School SLP Therapy

SLP Summit July 2025 – Session Recap

Working with teens means more than just targeting goals—it means recognizing the full context they bring into the room. In this powerful session, Rachel Archambault explores how secondary trauma, stress, and systemic challenges show up in middle and high school speech therapy—and how SLPs can respond with compassion, clarity, and purpose.

🎥 Watch a clip from the session below
Registration is available until Aug. 8, 2025—register now to access the full course and earn ASHA CEUs.

🧠 Understanding Trauma in the Therapy Room

Rachel breaks down what it really means to be a trauma-informed SLP serving adolescents—and why it’s so critical. She explores:

• How trauma affects the brain and learning

• Signs of stress and trauma responses in students

• What regulation looks like (and doesn’t)

• The role of trust and predictability in therapy success

• Why “just pushing through the session” often causes more harm

This session is rooted in research, but Rachel’s delivery is real, relatable, and grounded in school-based reality. Her insights are practical for IEP meetings, behavior plans, and your next session with that student who shuts down the minute you enter the room.

💬 “Trauma-informed care isn’t a technique—it’s a mindset.”

Rachel reminds us that our students are more than their goals—and that showing up with empathy doesn’t make us less clinical, it makes us more effective.

You’ll walk away with:

• A clearer understanding of trauma’s impact on executive functioning

• Concrete ways to build safety and choice into your sessions

• Language for co-regulation and connection

• Strategies to support yourself as a provider exposed to secondary trauma

✅ Ideal For:

• Middle & high school SLPs

• Clinicians supporting students with behavioral or emotional needs

• Professionals navigating burnout or compassion fatigue

• Anyone ready to be both trauma-informed and practical

🎧  Check out the full course!

You can register for the SLP Summit through August 8, 2025! Registration is free with an optional ASHA add-on for $29.99 for all six courses. Courses must be viewed by Aug. 15, 2025 and you must opt in for ASHA credit after each course by August 31, 2025. 

🔖 This course was originally presented live at the July 2025 SLP Summit. Captions available on replays.

🕒 Replay Access Ended? You Can Keep Learning!

If you missed registration, we’ve got a perfect next step to support your journey.

👉 Beyond Surviving: Empowering Resilience in the Midst of Stress and Secondary Trauma

In this self-paced course, you'll:

• Identify symptoms of secondary trauma

• Explore the 4 A’s of resilience

• Understand the effects of acute, episodic, and chronic stress on the brain

• Learn practical strategies to mitigate symptoms and build personal resilience

• Create an action plan to protect your emotional well-being in your role

This course is a must for any provider who wants to thrive—not just survive—in the work we do.