Three Mental Health Experts on Dealing With Trauma
The tragedy that struck Virginia Tech this week set in motion a process of recovery and healing that has become painfully familiar in the aftermath of events like the Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine, and September 11. U.S. News spoke separately with three mental health experts about what needs to be done to aid the survivors, their families, the community, and others who may have been traumatized by the shootings. They are David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Dr. Frank Ochberg, a psychiatrist at Michigan State University who was brought in as a consultant after the Columbine shootings in 1999 to work with the school district and the community; and Suzanne Silverstein, cofounder of the Psychological Trauma Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
What do these kids need most right now?
Schonfeld: First, they have to get their basic needs met. Do they feel safe? Do they have a place to eat and a place where they can sleep? Can they connect with their loved ones? That's what they need right away. Longer term, the school has to figure out how to normalize the environment on campus and also repair the natural support systems and buttress them. After a traumatic event, some people may start taking more risks; they may use alcohol and drugs. You need to start putting the support in to help minimize that. With adequate support, most people will start to cope and develop resiliency.
How can a community begin to come together in the aftermath of such a horrific event?
Ochberg: I have been really taken by the modern phenomenon of creating a memorial, with flowers and candles and pictures and other things. It is often one of the first responses and gives those in the community a way and a place to connect immediately and express their grief. These memorials also attract people from outside the community who want to show their support and leave tokens of concern and respect. That's very different from people coming in a voyeuristic way.
How might the shootings affect teenagers who are heading to college in the fall for the first time?
Silverstein: You have two kinds of kids: those who are mature and ready to go to college and move away and those who are ready academically but are not emotionally prepared to leave home. For those kids, this will just raise their anxiety level 100 percent and probably their parents' anxiety, too. The important thing for students to remember is that there are a lot of colleges and universities in this country, and while this is a national tragedy, it is not a common event.
Is there something parents can do to calm students?
Silverstein: Parents with children away at school now can talk to them and try to build a comfort system for the child. Arrange for a friend or relative to take your child out to dinner once a week if someone is nearby, or visit him or her on campus. Find out what kinds of services the university has for students who might need help.
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