Following a Trauma
Trauma is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing event. This can come in the form of community violence, any form of abuse, natural disaster, loss of a loved one, witnessing an accident, and more. Trauma can provoke a wide variety of negative emotional reactions, ranging from exhaustion to anger. Trauma is especially unsettling for youth because their concept of the world has been rattled. How the adults in a child's life reacts to a traumatic event greatly impacts how that child copes, so it is absolutely vital that adults, especially parents, first deal with and assess their own response to that trauma. The following links are excellent resources for caring for a student following any kind of trauma: