Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT March 29, 2002 "Light tomorrow with today!" - Elizabeth Barrett Browning Angelfire.com, a Great Place to work!
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Mental Health Moment Online CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
SMART MARRIAGES SIXTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE: July 11-14, 2002 Washington, D.C.; 69.5 hours CE; (202) 362-3332
June 11 - 15, 2002 Third International Conference on Child & Adolescent Mental Health Brisbane, Queensland, AUSTRALIA Conference Secretariat: Tracy Collier, Elsevier Science, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1865 843 297; Fax: +44 (0) 1865 843 958; Email: t.collier@elsevier.co.uk
International Conference on Surviving Trauma With Dignity Baku, AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC July 5-13, 2002 Contact: Alexander M. Cheryomukhin, Director of the International Department, Azerbaijan Psychologists Association, 18 Nizami str. 93, Baku 370000, Azerbaijan Republic E-mail: alexcherpsy@yahoo.com
ADHD MANIFESTATIONS IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN SIMILAR TO THOSE IN OLDER CHILDREN
Preschool children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are similar to older children with ADHD in terms of disease severity, impaired functioning, and psychiatric comorbidity rates, according to a recent report. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429312?srcmp=psy-030102
TRANSIENT PSYCHOSIS CAN OCCUR FOLLOWING CEREBRAL MALARIA
Self-limiting neurologic sequelae--most often, psychosis--can occur in cases of cerebral malaria, Indian researchers report. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429022?srcmp=psy-030102
THE CHANGING FACE OF GRANDPARENTHOOD
Last year marked a milestone that many people missed, writes Matthew Kaplan, Penn State associate professor of agricultural and extension education, in the latest installment of his series on "Ideas for Intergenerational Living." It was the year in which the first of the 76 million Americans born between the years 1946 and 1964--the "baby boomer" generation--reached the age of 55. "This landmark occurrence signals some interesting changes in the enterprise of grandparenting," according to Kaplan. "First, we will see a surge in the numbers of grandparents and they are likely to be quite different from the grandparents of previous eras." Kaplan says they should be more liberal, healthier, more active and wealthier. Further, they will identify with different historical events, have different ideas about work and play and have different heroes. He says all of these differences translate into anticipated changes in the way grandparents spend time with their grandchildren. For the full commentary, visit http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/march02/kaplan.html
The following case examples were compiled from situations that occurred in ice storms in Maine, tornadoes in Texas and Arkansas, and floods in Louisian and Texas. ANXIETY Jill, a six year old, was at home with her father and mother the afternoon when the tornado struck. The family had escaped with no injuries. Jill began having problems within the next few days. She was scared that another tornado would strike. She frequently questioned her parents about the weather and often became tearful. Jill's mother phoned the 1-800 tornado coping line and requested advice. The crisis counselor suggested that Jill's parents explain tornadoes to her, discuss the warning signs for a tornado in their community, and develop and practice their own family safety plan. The crisis counselor sent the family some informational materials about tornadoes and called Jill's parents several days later to see how they were doing. Her parents reported that her fears had lessened by learning about tornadoes and knowing how to protect herself. SEPARATION ANXIETY Katy, an eight year old girl, and her father were returning home from the video store on a Saturday afternoon when a tornado struck. Katy and her father hunched down in the car. Suddenly the windows blew out and a tree fell across the hood. They crawled out of the demolished car - shaken but miraculously unhurt. Katy's mother and two older brothers were in the home when the tornado struck. They survived with only a few bumps, bruises and one broken arm. However, their two-story home was a pile of rubble. The two weeks after the tornado struck were difficult for Katy. She did not want to go to school and she had difficulty sleeping at night. She had dreams about the tornado and was fearful of leaving her mother, father and brothers. Teachers at school were supportive and understanding of Katy's needs. For the first few weeks following the tornado, Katy felt anxious and worried about her parents. School personnel allowed her to call and "check-in" with her parents at recess so that she felt assured that they were OK. The family held a family meeting and discussed what they should do to be safe at home, school or work in case another disaster were to happen. After a few weeks, Katy was sleeping in her own room again and was going to school without much anxiety. DISRUPTIVE SCHOOL BEHAVIOR After a major ice styorm, Jason, age eight, was displaced from his home and living in a Red Cross shelter for eleven days while waiting for power to be restored to his home. Greg, age eleven, was displaced from his family for thirteen days. He spent this period with relatives in a very crowded house. Both children exhibited disruptive behaviors upon returning to school. Jason was constantly talking and appeared to be very anxious. Greg was inattentive in class and presented an angry and defiant manner. The outreach crisis counselor spoke with the teacher and offered to come to the weekly health class to talk about the ice storm and to tie the conversation together with the classroom material about the five senses. The counselor first encouraged the children to share their personal experiences with the storm (e.g. What did you see? What did you smell? What did you hear? What did you feel?, etc.) This was a creative way to discuss the effects of the storm. It provided assurance and information and students heard from their peers that they shared many of the same feelings. Within a few days, both Jason and Greg settled down into their daily routines. ACTING OUT Tommy, an eleven year old fifth grader, had been in counseling for disruptive behavior and defiance in the classroom prior to the tornado. He had been responding well to the treatment and was receiving positive reports form his teacher. He had never experienced a disaster of any kind. He was at a friend's house when the tornado struck. Several trees came smashing through the windows. He was not physically hurt from the tornado. However, both his teachers and his parents reported increases in his disruptive and defiant behavior. These occurred even though he continued in treatment. After reviewing Tommy's situation with the school and interviewing his parents, it became clear that no one had offered him an opportunity to deal with his disaster related experience and the subsequent stress he had been trying to manage because of the fears associated with the occurrence of another possible tornado. A series of visits to his home and school by disaster crisis counselors helped Tommy normalize his experience and more openly discuss his fears. Both his parents and his teacher reported a lessening of his disruptive and defiant behavior. ADOLESCENT AGGRESSION Patrick, a sixteen year old, became verbally aggressive and threatened other youths following one night in a large urban shelter after a najor flood. He had a history of petty crimes, homelessness, and drug use and was well known to the local police. Because of his history and his current behavior, the shelter manager and the local police considered removing him to the juvenile detention center. His mother met with the crisis counselor, the shelter manager, and a law enforcement officer in an attempt to work out an alternative plan. They asked Patrick to assist the National Guard in their duties distributing water and other food supplies. He readily agreed, helped the community, and, with this more structured level of adult guidance, was able to maintain good behavioral control and remain in the shelter. REACTIONS THREE TO SIX MONTHS POST-DISASTER Several months after the floods, there were still many children who had remained in temporary lining situations. Roger, an eight year old third grader, continued to struggle with his school work, became increasingly withdrawn from his friends, and was non-responsive in school. As the school year neared the end, his teacher became concerned that he would not advance to the fourth grade. Consultation with the school guidance counselor and the crisis outreach counselors revealed that many of the children displaced from the same trailer park as Roger were still feeling anxious and tense and were doing poorly in school. In some cases, the pressures of the long disruption had affected the relationships of the parents. Serparations and divorces were occurring within the families of his peers. The crisis counselors became more involved with Roger's class. They assisted with field trips and performed skits about floods and the log time it takes to return families to their pre-disaster status. The counselors also began encouraging the families in the trailer park to get together with neighborhood friends over potluck suppers to talk about common issues and plans to get things "back to normal". The school helped Roger's parents find a retired teacher to tutor Roger with his school work in order to help him become ready to advance to the fourth grade. ANNIVERSARY REACTIONS OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES A crisis counseling team assisting a community in recovery worked with schools and the local unmet needs committee to arrange a number of commemorative events to help survivors during the anniversary of disastrous floods. Some of the families were still waiting for financial assistance. Others were rebuilding their homes. Many families had returned to their daily routines. However, there was some degree of community impatience with those who were still struggling with the impact of the flood. During the anniversary week, many children were expressing lingering fears and a remaining sense of loss. Anniversary events focused on individual and community healing, celebration of their survival, and the accomplishments of the last 12 months. At a number of the schools, outreach counselors visited with the younger children. They distributed coloring books that showed the recovery and return to daily routines experienced by Andy and Allie, two young alligator characters who had lived through the storms. Through human interest stories that reveald the ongoing needs of survivors, additional resources were donated to help in their recovery. ********************************************************************************
SOME CASE EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN FOLLOWING DISASTER ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Administration For Children and Families: The Department Of Health And Human Services http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/ American Academy Of Child And Adolescent Psychiatry http://www.aacap.org/web/aacap/ American Association Of Psychiatric Services For Children http://www.cwla.org/mentalh/mentalhealth.html Child, Adolescent And Family Branch: The Center For Mental Health Services http://www.mentalhealth.org/cmhs/ChildrensCampaign/index.htm Connect For Kids http://www.connectforkids.org/index.htm Federation Of Families For Children's Mental Health http://www.ffcmh.org/ Georgetown University Child Development Center http://www.dml.georgetown.edu/depts/pediatrics/gucdc/ Kids Count http://www.aecf.org/aeckids.htm National Association For The Mentally Ill http://www.nami.org/ National Mental Health Association http://www.nmha.org/children/index.cfm Parent Advocacy Coalition For Educational Rights (PACER) http://www.pacer.org/ Parents Place http://www.parentsplace.com/ Research And Training Center On Family Support And Children's Mental Health http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/ To search for books on disasters and disaster mental health topics, children and disasters, schools and disasters, crisis intervention, schools and crises, suicide, PTSD and children, families and disaster and related topics and purchase them online, go to the following url: https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odochartaigh/searchbooks.html ********************************************************************** ********************************************************************** Contact your local Mental Health Center or check the yellow pages for counselors, psychologists, therapists, and other Mental health Professionals in your area for further information. ********************************************************************** George W. Doherty O'Dochartaigh Associates Box 786 Laramie, WY 82073-0786 MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT Online: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
