Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters: What Rescue Workers Can Do

Written by NIMH

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Police, Fire, and other First Responders

Violence or disasters can cause trauma in young people. Trauma results from hurt, harm or intense fear. It can be caused by harm to a person's body. It can be caused by fear in a person's mind. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) works to help children who experience trauma. Other Federal agencies also provide help.

Rescue workers play important roles. They help children who experience violence or disaster. They help children cope with trauma. They help protect children from further trauma. They also help young people avoid or overcome emotional problems. These problems can result from trauma.

This fact sheet provides steps rescue workers can take. It gives information on:

Coping with Trauma After Violence and Disasters

Disasters cause major damage. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were examples. They occurred in 2005. Many homes were destroyed. Whole communities were damaged. Many survivors were displaced. There were also many deaths.

Trauma is also caused by acts of violence. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were examples. Another example was the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was also an example. These acts claim lives. They also threaten our sense of security.

Beyond these events, children face many other traumas. Each year, young people are injured. They see others harmed by violence. They suffer sexual abuse. They lose loved ones. Or, they witness other tragic events.

Children are very sensitive. They struggle to make sense of trauma. They also respond differently to traumas. They often have emotional reactions. They may hurt deeply. They may find it hard to recover from frightening experiences. As a result they may need extra support. Rescue workers can provide this support. This may help children avoid or overcome long-term emotional problems.

What is Trauma?

There are two types of trauma — physical and mental. Physical trauma includes the body's response to serious injury and threat. Mental trauma includes frightening thoughts and painful feelings. They are the mind's response to serious injury. Mental trauma can produce strong feelings. It can also produce extreme behavior; such as intense fear or helplessness, withdrawal or detachment, lack of concentration, irritability, sleep disturbance, aggression, hyper vigilance (intensely watching for more distressing events), or flashbacks (sense that event is reoccurring).

A response could be fear. One could fear that a loved one will be hurt or killed. It is believed that more direct exposures to traumatic events cause greater harm. For instance, in a school shooting, an injured student will probably be more severely affected emotionally than a student who was in another part of the building. However, second-hand exposure to violence can also be traumatic. This includes witnessing violence such as seeing or hearing about death and destruction after a building is bombed or a plane crashes.

Helping Young Trauma Survivors

Helping children begins at the scene of the event. It may need to continue for weeks or months. Most children recover within a few weeks. Some need help longer. Grief (a deep emotional response to loss) may take months to resolve. It could be for a loved one or a teacher. It could be for a friend or pet. Grief may be re-experienced or worsened by news reports or the event's anniversary.

Some children may need help from a mental health professional. Some people may seek alternative kinds of help. They may turn to religious or community leaders.