LUMS Calls for a Trauma-Informed Approach to Improve Student Well-Being

The LUMS Syed Ahsan Ali and Syed Maratib Ali School of Education (SOE), in collaboration with the Ali Institute of Education, hosted a seminar titled "Recognizing and Supporting Students' Mental Health: Trauma-informed Approaches as a Whole-School Framework." The event marked the culmination of a year-long project with the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust (SNPET) to establish a whole-school trauma-informed system.

Who Took Part

The seminar brought together educators, researchers, government officials, and school leaders. The panel included Dr. Khurram Shahzad of the Nawaz Sharif Center of Excellence Early Childhood Center, Sidra Jawwad of Cambridge Pakistan, Sara Faizan of the Ali Institute of Education, Beena Raza of SNPET, and Fizza Suhail, a faculty member at SOE, trauma therapist, and researcher.

The Core Message

A key theme was that mental health is deeply interconnected with teaching and learning, and must be seen as part of the relationships that underpin education. SOE Dean Dr. Tayyaba Tamim highlighted the hidden burdens many children carry, saying "students carry invisible scars which they bring into the classroom."

A Framework for Every Learner

Fizza Suhail explained that the framework is designed to include all students, whether neurotypical or neurodivergent, facing adversity, or living with a disability. Beena Raza said the model's potential extends beyond one school: "If it can work in Sanjan Nagar, it can work in any other school."

Moving Beyond Counsellors

Panelists said mental health does not simply mean the absence of mental illness, but being able to flourish in school and beyond. They urged schools to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, emphasised teacher well-being alongside student well-being, and noted that simply hiring counsellors is a limited, deficit-based response. Meaningful change, they said, requires a whole-school approach with relationships at its heart.

A New Degree on the Way

LUMS School of Education is also launching a new BSc (Hons) in Educational Psychology this year, bringing together psychology, education, and human development to help students understand learners more holistically.