Evidence-Based Resources for Mental Health, Resilience, and Psychological Safety
Children and adolescents often experience heightened stress during periods of familial or community uncertainty or disruption. Educators and caregivers can promote healthy development by utilizing research-based resources that enhance emotional well-being, maintain opportunities for play and learning, and foster stability.
Children register upheaval not as headlines but as shifts in emotional climate. These changes can reshape sleep, attention, mood, and relationships long before they can explain what’s happening. Dr. Susan E. Craig’s work on trauma-sensitive schools underscores that predictable routines, emotionally responsive adults, and a schoolwide culture of safety are not extras but essential conditions for learning and regulation, especially for children carrying high stress (Craig, 2015).In the face of war, deportation or forced migration, community violence, household dysfunction, the loss of a loved one, natural disaster, or chronic instability, Montessori communities can respond through a trauma-informed approach that recognizes behavior as the outward signal of an internal stress response. Within this framework, behavior is treated as communication rather than defiance, and the environment is intentionally structured to restore safety, predictability, and belonging. Calm order, purposeful activity, and respectful connection create the conditions in which regulation can emerge, trust can be rebuilt, and the child’s capacity for concentration and engagement can gradually be restored.
This approach aligns with public health guidance on the protective power of supportive, connected school environments, including evidence that school connectedness is associated with better mental health and reduced risk across multiple outcomes and with Dr. Maria Montessori’s pedagogy, which centers the prepared environment, observation of the child, dignified adult presence, and purposeful work as the conditions that make regulation and deep concentration possible (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d.).
The following curated resources are intended for educational use. These materials emphasize developmental support, mental health awareness, and resilience across various age groups.
- 11 Ways to Make Your Classroom a Safe Haven for Children Exposed to Trauma
- Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt
Child Development, Stress & Resilience (All Ages)
When children are overwhelmed by threat, loss, or instability, their nervous systems often shift into stress-response activation, and what adults see as “behavior”. Chronic stress without consistent buffering relationships can disrupt self-regulation, attention, and learning, while stable, supportive relationships and predictable environments reduce risk and strengthen resilience over time (Masten, 2014; Shonkoff et al., 2012). A trauma-informed approach recognizes these stress signals and adjusts practice to avoid retraumatization, meaning adults modify environments and expectations so regulation becomes possible rather than demanded (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2026).
Montessori pedagogy places the prepared environment and the adult’s calm, respectful presence at the center of development, creating the conditions for normalization, concentration, and self-discipline (Montessori, 1949/1995). Complementing this perspective, Susan Craig emphasizes that children affected by trauma require predictable environments, trusting relationships, and emotionally responsive classrooms to feel safe enough to learn (Craig, 2008). Research on self-regulation and executive function similarly shows that structured contexts paired with attuned adults strengthen children’s capacity to regain control and engage in learning (Blair & Raver, 2015). When a child is dysregulated, the most effective response is often more structure and relationship, supported by grounding work with a clear purpose and completion. For older children and adolescents, Montessori emphasized meaningful work and social responsibility through organizing materials, hands-on projects, research and collaboration, community roles, and care of shared spaces, which rebuild competence, agency, and readiness to learn, and can support neuroregulation through sensorimotor engagement and purposeful activity (Montessori, 1948/1976). Protective factors such as strong relationships, opportunities for mastery, cultural affirmation, and a sense of belonging strengthen resilience even in the presence of adversity (Masten, 2014).
Developmental Guidance and Montessori Strategies
Infant and Toddler (Birth–3)
Children in this developmental stage experience stress mainly due to changes in routine, emotional tone, and caregiver availability. Consistent relationships, predictable environments, and responsive caregiving foster a sense of safety and support early emotional regulation during periods of heightened family stress or uncertainty.
Toddlers ages one to three seek safety through rhythm and closeness, so stress often shows up as clinginess, regression, sleep disruption, or separation anxiety. Support them by keeping routines and transitions consistent, offering calm physical reassurance and a gentle tone, and using simple repeated language such as “You are safe. I am here.” Rhythmic movement, music, and familiar practical life activities can further help toddlers settle and regain a sense of security (Sesame Workshop, n.d.).
Early Childhood (3 years–6 years)
For children ages three to six, stress and trauma often surface as repetitive play themes, new fears, somatic complaints, or emotional outbursts. Montessori support focuses on preserving classroom order and clear material sequencing to restore predictability, while also offering expressive outlets such as drawing, storytelling, and teaching basic feeling vocabulary through grace and courtesy, providing a calm space for self-regulation (Sesame Workshop, n.d.; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d.).
Elementary (6 years–12 years)
Start by listening. Ask what they have heard, correct misinformation calmly, and explain the concrete steps adults are taking to keep them safe. In the Elementary years, children often seek logical and moral clarity, and stress may manifest as worry about fairness or safety and difficulty concentrating as they scan for threats. Start with listening, ask what they have heard, correct misinformation calmly, and name the concrete steps adults are taking to keep them safe. In schools, predictable expectations and supportive relationships strengthen belonging and protect mental health, which the CDC identifies as central to youth well-being (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Montessori peace education and shared responsibility can also restore agency when children feel powerless.
Adolescents (Secondary)
In Montessori Adolescent education, stress often collides with identity development, peer dynamics, and nonstop information flow, which can amplify anxiety when the future feels uncertain or social media delivers repeated distressing content. Anxiety may show up as avoidance, physical symptoms, irritability, or outbursts that can be misread as attitude or disengagement (Child Mind Institute, n.d.). A Montessori response pairs respectful partnership with clear limits, validating emotion without escalating panic, and maintaining realistic expectations. In addition, Montessori Adolescent structures channel intensity into purposeful work through service learning, community responsibility, and real projects that build agency, alongside practical self-regulation tools such as brief breathing, movement, and reflection that students can use independently. This agency-building work can be especially protective during adolescence because it supports identity formation, purpose, and belonging when the future feels uncertain.
Engagement & Educator Support Resources
A trauma-informed Montessori response is most effective when core values translate into repeatable, in-the-moment actions that adults can employ reliably. The aim is not to eliminate the stressors children may be facing, but to strengthen the conditions that help them feel safe, remain connected, and regain access to concentration and meaningful work. Deep engagement in purposeful activity can quiet internal distress and restore balance. When predictability increases, perceived threat decreases, and relationships remain steady, children are better able to process experiences and build coping capacity. The strategies associated with this approach align Montessori principles with trauma-informed practice by pairing relationship and environment to support regulation, resilience, and sustained engagement (Sesame Workshop, n.d.; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d.).
Reemphasizing Montessori Strategies for Parents and Educators
- Maintain a predictable rhythm and transitions through consistent routines, clear expectations, and advance warnings.
- Use the Montessori work cycle and purposeful movement as regulatory tools by offering curriculum-engaged tasks, handwork with didactic materials, and varied activities that activate different parts of the brain and body, supporting stress release, concentration, and a steady return to learning.
- Maintain the integrity of the prepared environment by minimizing visual and auditory overstimulation and ensuring access to a calm, orderly
space where students can regain regulation and reenter the work cycle. - Prioritize connection and dignity by establishing rapport before redirecting behavior, offering language that helps children name their emotions, and guiding restorative conversations that support accountability and reentry into the classroom community.
- Strengthen resilience through belonging and coping skills by affirming culture and identity, preserving play and creativity, and using brief self-regulation practices such as paced breathing. Strengthen resilience through belonging and coping skills by affirming culture and identity, preserving play and creativity, and using brief self-regulation practices such as paced breathing.
Supporting Adults Who Support Children
Adult regulation shapes child regulation, so caring for the adult is part of caring for the child. Pause and breathe before responding, model emotional repair when things go sideways, seek collegial support, and maintain personal stress practices that keep you steady.
A regulated adult is the child’s first prepared environment. It is the steady presence that makes safety, trust, and learning possible.
- Managing Stress
- Promoting Staff Well-being
- Communication with Multilingual Families
- Visual Breathing Exercise for Stress & Anxiety
- Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Fact Sheet for Child-Serving Professionals
- Yale Center for Traumatic Stress and Recovery (YCTSR)
References:
Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2015). School readiness and self-regulation: A developmental psychobiological approach. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 711–731. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015221
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). School connectedness and youth mental health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov
Child Mind Institute. (n.d.). Anxiety in adolescents. https://childmind.org
Craig, S. E. (2008). Reaching and teaching children who hurt: Strategies for your classroom. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Craig, S. E. (2015). Trauma-sensitive schools: Learning communities transforming children’s lives, K–5. Teachers College Press.
Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford Press.
Montessori, M. (1976). Education for a new world (M. J. Costelloe, Trans.). Clio Press. (Original work published 1948)
Montessori, M. (1995). Education and peace (C. Claremont, Trans.). Clio Press. (Original work published 1949)
Sesame Workshop. (n.d.). Resources for supporting children through traumatic experiences. https://sesameworkshop.org
Shonkoff, J. P., Garner, A. S., & the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129(1), e232–e246. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2663
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2026). Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services (updated guidance). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.