Barriers and Facilitators to Caregiver Healing Following Mass School Violence

Background: Mass school violence has widespread and lasting effects on individuals, families, and communities. Since the Columbine High School shooting, more than 435 school shootings have occurred in the United States, exposing approximately 398,000 students to gun violence in schools. While existing research has documented significant impacts on students, less is known about how caregivers experience and navigate the healing process. Caregivers play a critical role in supporting recovery across children, families, and community systems, while simultaneously managing their own responses to trauma. Healing following mass violence is complex and influenced by multiple interacting factors. Emerging evidence suggests that caregivers encounter barriers and facilitators that influence recovery, yet research remains limited. The purpose of this study was to examine barriers and facilitators to caregiver healing following a mass school shooting from the perspectives of caregivers themselves. Methods: This study used semi-structured interviews with 27 caregivers whose child had been present during a mass school shooting. Participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews explored caregiver experiences during and after the event, including perceived impacts, supports, and challenges related to recovery. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, iteratively examining and refining patterns across interviews. Results: Caregivers described numerous barriers that hindered healing. A central barrier was difficulty identifying and understanding their own responses, including limited education on trauma and expected reactions, which contributed to reduced help-seeking. Caregivers also described a perceived hierarchy of trauma, both externally conveyed and internalized, leading to minimizing their own needs, feelings of being undeserving of support, and, in many cases, not seeking care for themselves or their family members. A lack of understanding from those outside the community contributed to distress and isolation. Even when supports were available, they were often perceived as misaligned with caregiver and family needs, contributing to persistent distress. Additional barriers included limited access to trauma-informed mental health providers and ongoing concerns related to their children’s safety. Caregivers also identified key facilitators of healing. Normalization and psychoeducation helped caregivers understand their reactions as expected responses to trauma, increasing self-efficacy and help-seeking. Access to appropriate, well-aligned supports, along with social support from others directly affected by the event, reduced isolation and supported recovery. Together, these findings suggest that caregiver healing is shaped by interacting barriers and facilitators across individual, relational, and systemic contexts. Conclusion: Caregivers play a central role in healing following mass school violence, yet face significant barriers that limit access to support and intervention. Future research should continue to examine facilitators and barriers to healing in this population and develop effective individual, family, and community interventions following school-based gun violence. Efforts should center the voices of affected individuals and communities and use their identified needs to guide resource allocation, policy, and intervention. Social workers are uniquely positioned to support caregiver healing through psychoeducation, resource navigation, targeted interventions, and advocacy to strengthen systems of care and response. Findings highlight the importance of recognizing caregivers as directly impacted and ensuring access to appropriate, aligned, and trauma-informed supports and interventions.