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The panel was facilitated by SAMHSA's Larke Huang, Ph.D., Senior Advisor on Children in the Office of the Administrator and former member of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Panelists offered hands-on experiences and insights into how children respond and show resilience to traumatic events such as Hurricane Katrina, and how frontline providers can use strategies such as psychological first aid in the early response to children experiencing trauma. New Orleans
"Resilience is the primary thing we're seeing in children now," Dr. Osofsky said, "But children are much more resilient if they have support from their family." Dr. Osofsky and her husband (see SAMHSA News, Post-Disaster Response: Learning from Research) are part of the Louisiana Spirit Crisis Counseling program, which has served thousands of children and families in the New Orleans area since the hurricanes. She reported that school enrollments in St. Bernard Parish have increased from 365 students in November 2005 when the schools re-opened to 2,300 students by the end of May 2006. "Many young people are graduating from their high schools, too," she said. (See related article Documentary Features New Orleans High School.)
Another panelist, Marleen Wong, Ph.D., agreed. "Parents serve as a protective shield for children in a disaster," she said. Dr. Wong is the Director of Crisis Counseling for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Wong's program is also a participating site in the SAMHSA-funded National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Through this network, she provided technical assistance to the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Wong emphasized that schools provided the frontline of stability and services for children who were traumatized by evacuation, relocation, and readjustment after the hurricane. "Teachers are now becoming first responders," she said. "They need help and interventions as much as anyone." The intersection between mental health and education is important, said Dr. Wong, citing one of the six recommendations of the President's New Freedom Commission. "We need to rebuild mental health services in schools," she said. "Teachers, school counselors, and social workers can play a part." Austin, Texas
The panel also focused on how "receiving" communities, such as Austin, responded to children relocating from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Enrollment in school offered these children their first chance at stability since the disaster occurred. With the end of the school year, however, new challenges are emerging. "Our focus is shifting," said Jay Koonce, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Clinical Director, Phoenix Academy, Austin, TX. "We're developing summer camps and providing continuing support and structure to ‘in home' environments." Mr. Koonce served as a certified mental health responder for the Office of Emergency Management in Austin during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when the city hosted thousands of guests. Organizing parents to help their children was important; however, approaching parents required sensitivity and respect. "Saying ‘Want to come to a meeting on how to help your kids?' received a lot more positive and cooperative responses than ‘We're having a therapy group,' " said Mr. Koonce. He noted that the stigma associated with therapy and counseling is still strong. People want to be perceived as competent, he said. "Two things we all need in life are to feel loved and to feel capable. Treating people with respect is what it takes."
Mary Lou Kelly, Ph.D., M.A., offered additional information on the effects of disasters on children in her panel presentation, titled "Disaster Recovery: Family-Focused Treatment." A professor of psychology at Louisiana State University, Dr. Kelley emphasized the importance of re-establishing family routines, including mealtimes, homework, and morning and evening rituals. Children also needed increased praise and encouragement, she said. More information on the "Spirit of Recovery"
conference, including PowerPoint presentations, is available
at www.spiritofrecoverysummit.com.
For more information on disaster readiness and response,
visit SAMHSA's Web site at www.samhsa.gov. Note: Through NCTSN and the Louisiana Rural
Trauma Services Center, Drs. Joy and Howard Osofsky have
recently made available a booklet, Helping Children
and Families Cope with Hurricanes. To access that
publication in PDF format, visit www.futureunlimited.org/katrina/Hurricane_ « See Part 1: Hurricane Recovery Guides Preparedness Planning « See Part 2: Hurricane Recovery Guides Preparedness Planning « See Part 1: Post-Disaster Response: Learning from Research « See Part 2: Post-Disaster Response: Learning from Research See Also—Hurricane Recovery Guides Preparedness Planning Documentary Features New Orleans High School » |
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Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration • 1 Choke Cherry Road • Rockville, MD 20857
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Schools
Offer Stability for Children of Disasters
