Building Resilience through Trauma Literacy in Journalism Schools

Publications on the emotional/psychological challenges of doing journalism have appeared in the field of psychology for the past two decades, but there is a lack of studies that stretch the analysis to the role of j-schools and journalism educators in addressing the lack of trauma literacy teaching. This chapter explores what educators can do to help students cope with trauma that they are likely to experience during their studies and in their future practice. The chapter is based on semi-structured interviews with 20 journalism educators from 13 different countries who talk candidly about the challenges they face in the classroom, “gung-ho macho mentality”, helping students deal with grief and shock in real life situations, and being mindful of their mental health. It explores their own ups and downs in teaching difficult/sensitive topics that can trigger a wide range of emotional responses in students but also bring back memories and experiences from their own professional practice as former journalists.