Welcome to the first blog post in two years.
It takes me a long time to write well, so I avoid writing. Similarly, avoidance is a well documented phenomenon among students who struggle with math. It is part of what some people call the Math Wheel of Doom.
The purpose of this post is to share the news that I have completed the Trauma Informed certification offered by the Attachment & Trauma Network. While there is no certification in Math Therapy, this let’s people know that I am aware of, and use trauma informed practices when seeing my clients.
What this looks like is different for each client, but some of the guiding principles are; respecting students and treating their behavior as communication, meeting the sensory needs of clients to help them stay within their window of tolerance, building a safe relationship and trust, and using neuroscience to find effective brain-based strategies for each client.
Not all of the students I see have experienced math trauma, but using trauma informed practices benefits all students.
Math trauma remains a topic that most people don’t want to acknowledge.
Several months ago, a woman contacted me because she is afraid of passing her math trauma and anxiety on to her daughter. She had been put in a closet for not memorizing her times tables as quickly as her classmates. The comments below are another example of the kind of experience that could lead to math trauma. How many of us have had, or witnessed, similar experiences?
When I say that I am a Math Therapist, it is because I help people overcome the negative emotions they associate with math. The unspoken part of the Math Wheel of Doom is the shame that students feel. This needs to be in every math instructor’s mind. Avoiding shaming, or retraumatizing, students is paramount and one of the reasons I see one client at a time. My goal is to help my clients build confidence and resilience so they can write a new math story going forward.
PS: – If you are an educator reading this, I am aware “relationship with math” is currently all the rage. My background as a foster and adoptive parent is why I like to talk about clients writing their math story. Storytelling is active. Storytelling is empowering. Storytelling gives students a voice. Those are things that I believe are helpful in overcoming the Math Wheel of Doom.