ACA members—and all professional counselors—are prepared to assist anyone in need of support following an episode of trauma. To help all professional counselors in the important work of trauma counseling, the American Counseling Association offers an array of free resources, available online here.

Counselors know that each individual reacts to trauma in their own unique way. Some may need support immediately after an event; some may need the support at a future point in time.

We urge everyone in communities affected by trauma to keep an eye on those around them to make sure that those in need of help find their way to a professional counselor.

FREE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ALL

The SAMHSA Disaster Distress Hotline provides 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors for people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. This toll-free, multilingual and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. Stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are common reactions after a disaster.

Contact the hotline by phone:
Call 800-985-5990
For TTY/hearing impaired access, call 800-846-8517

Contact the hotline by text:
Text ‘TalkWithUs’ to 66746
Spanish speakers: Text ‘Hablanos’ to 66746

Online access to hotline information

The American Red Cross
The American Red Cross Sheltering in Place Fact Sheet

Anti-Defamation League
Gun Violence and Mass Shootings
Discussing Hate and Violence with Children
10 Things You Can Do to Combat Hate

FREE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO COUNSELORS

American Counseling Association Fact Sheet 10:
1:1 Crisis Counseling

American Counseling Association Fact Sheet 1:
Post-Trauma/Disaster Stress

American Counseling Association Fact Sheet 8
Personal and Pre-Disposing Factors

American Counseling Association Fact Sheet 9:
Vicarious Trauma

American Counseling Association Fact Sheet 12:
Grief Reactions Over the Lifespan

American Counseling Association Fact Sheet 13:
Helping Survivors with Stress-Management Skills

American Association Fact Sheet 15:
Intrusive Memories

Counseling Today articles

• Crisis counseling: A blend of safety and compassion (2021)
• Crisis counseling via text (2021)
• Untangling trauma and grief after loss (2021)
• Lessons learned from a community crisis (2020)
• Relieving the heavy burden of survivor guilt (2019)
• Doing the groundwork after a large-scale traumatic event (2019)
• The high cost of human-made disasters (2018)

ACA Books

• Antiracist Counseling in Schools and Communities edited by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy
• Coping Skills for a Stressful World:  A Workbook for Counselors and Clients by Michelle Muratori and Robert Haynes
• Crisis Intervention Ethics Casebook by Rick A. Myer, Julia L. Whisenhunt, and Richard K. James
• Disaster Mental Health Counseling: A Guide to Preparing and Responding, 4th Edition edited by Jane M. Webber and J. Barry Mascari
• Introduction to Crisis and Trauma Counseling edited by Thelma Duffey and Shane Haberstroh

JCD Articles

• Goodman-Scott, E., & Eckhoff, A. (2020). School counselors' experiences with lockdown drills: A phenomenological investigation. Journal of Counseling & Development, 98(4), 435–445.   
• Hannon, M. D., Mohabir, R. K., Cleveland, R. E., & Hunt, B. (2019). School counselors, multiple student deaths, and grief: A narrative inquiry. Journal of Counseling & Development, 97(1), 43–52.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ACA MEMBERS ONLY

The ACA Center for Counseling Practice, Policy, and Research offers Practice Briefs for ACA members. Practice Briefs, written by scholars in the counseling profession, are research-based summaries of best practices, evidence-based practices, and research-based approaches covering a wide variety of client-presenting issues and counseling topics. Each Practice Brief is several pages in length, includes references, and has been peer-reviewed by two co-editors before being accepted for publication. The Practice Briefs available to members include:

Practice Brief: Grief and Loss

 Practice Brief: Death and Dying Issues

 Practice Brief: Complex Trauma and Associated Diagnoses

 Practice Brief: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Practice Brief: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Youth