Teaching With Trauma and PTSD: Navigating the Aftermath of Sexual Assault as a Graduate Student Instructor
by Cat Williams-Monardes | Xchanges 19.2, Fall 2025
Contents
Conceptualizing Sexual Trauma and PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Challenges of Teaching with Sexual Trauma as a Graduate Student Instructor
Integrating Trauma-Informed Pedagogy, Critical Disability Theory, and Networks of Care
Concluding Thoughts
Overcoming shame is a recursive process, as is healing from trauma, as is navigating PTSD. Because there is no way to undo assault, there are no easy fixes. I suppose this would not be a complete article without looking towards the future or calling upon the administration. Still, the future of education looks increasingly bleak, and it seems as though administration will be rather preoccupied in the coming years. So, if I call upon anyone, it is upon you: Care for yourself, give your students grace, and treat your instructors with compassion because you don’t know who was raped last weekend or who will be raped tomorrow.
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