At Least 8,026,698,860 Understandings of Emotional Abuse Experiences Worldwide as of 5:16 PM on April 9, 2023

Humanity lives in a volatile, complex, and ambiguous world plagued by objective misunderstandings of the subjective experiences or hardships endured by global individuals. Today’s youth exist in a society where the individuality of the human condition is often masked by the expectation that people abandon their authenticity to conform to the exclusive desires of a “mainstream” collective. The modern education system in the United States is, unfortunately, not untouched by the aforementioned expectation, especially with respect to trauma-related considerations. While academic growth is important in educational settings, there appear to be several critical, missing pieces: Have individual notions of trauma been considered? Has intentional thought been given to the perceived invisibility of emotional abuse or manipulation as its own domain of traumatic experiences? This thesis, and the accompanying creative project deliverable, aim to shed light on re-envisioned notions of trauma, emotional abuse, and the importance of utilizing inclusive and comprehensive trauma response strategies in K-12 classrooms.