Coping With Traumatic Events

Tips For Parents | Tips For Teachers | Tips For Emergency and Disaster Response Workers

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Tips for Parents

• Parent Guidelines for Talking with Young Children about War and Terrorism urges parents to give children more attention and patience. Realize that changes in how they behave may be signs that young children are concerned and need extra time, conversation and love.
  
  
• Talking with School-Age Children about War and Terrorism suggests that before talking with children, parents take time to think about the issue themselves and consider what it means to their family.
  
  
• Parent Guidelines for Talking with Teenagers about War and Terrorism informs parents that teenagers may want to discuss issues more than once or may have different sets of questions for them at different times. Be open, available and positive in order to create an environment that supports communication among all members of the family.
  
  
• Tips for Talking to Children in Trauma: Interventions at Home For Preschoolers to Adolescents [PDF] suggests activities arranged by age group to help children share recovery feelings and experiences at home. Includes activities for preschoolers, elementary age children, and pre-adolescents and adolescents.
  
  
• After a Disaster: What Teens Can Do [PDF] provides information for teens to help understand some of their reactions as well as others, to terrorist events. Suggestions are also provided to help ease the unfamiliar feelings related to the event.
  
  
• How Families Can Help Children Cope with Fear and Anxiety explains how families can help children who are dealing with responses to traumatic events.
  
  
• Helping Children Cope With Fear & Anxiety provides a summary of ways to help children who are dealing with fear and anxiety.
  
  

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Tips for Teachers

• Tips for Supporting children during Times of War: A Guide for Teachers suggests ways that teachers can support the mental health of their students during traumatic times.
  
  
• Marking Disaster Anniversaries in the Classroom suggests activities for teachers to use with students of different grade levels to commemorate disaster anniversaries.
  
  
• Questions to Help Children Talk About a Disaster provides examples of "open-ended" questions to encourage children to talk about their feelings and experiences following a disaster.
  
  
• When Talking Doesn't Help: Other Ways to Help Children Express Their Feelings Following a Disaster provides ideas for helping children express themselves in ways other than talking to help them through the recovery process following a disaster.
  
  
• The Role of Culture in Helping Children Recover from a Disaster offers words of advice and guidance for teachers helping children from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds through the recovery process following a disaster.
  
  
• Tips for Talking to Children After a Disaster: A Guide for Parents and Teachers [PDF] explains how preschool age, early childhood, and adolescent children may respond to terrorist events. The link is intended for parents and teachers to be informed, recognize problems, and respond appropriately to the needs of children.

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Tips for Emergency and Disaster Response Workers

• Mental Health Response to Mass Violence and Terrorism, A Field Guide [HMTL]
  
  
• Tips for Managing and Preventing Stress: A Guide for Emergency and Disaster Response Workers [PDF] provides suggestions for those who are at the scene. It outlines facts, indicators of stress, and stress management strategies.
  
  
• Stress Prevention and Management Approaches for Rescue Workers in the Aftermath of Terrorist Acts suggests techniques that can be used by both organizations and individuals to minimize the effects of stress on rescue workers.
  
  
• Field Manual for Mental Health and Human Service Workers in Major Disasters (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
  
  
• Disaster Counseling provides suggestions for disaster counselors on establishing rapport and active listening.

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