LibGuides: Counseling and Student Services Resources: Trauma Resources

Associations/Organizations

National Child Traumatic Stresss Network (NCTSN): NCTSN, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides resources for parents, teachers and others to provide support to traumatized children and adolescents. Resources are available for all types of traumas from natural disasters, physical and sexual abuse, terrorism, and acts of violence.
Grades: PreK - 12

Lesson Plans and Teaching Activities

Be a Hero!: Prepared by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) this website has sections for kids, parents and educators. The Educators section has teaching activities divided by grade levels from elementary school to high school. The Kids section has games and activities that test kids knowledge of emergency preparedness.
Grades: 1 - 12

Resources for Talking and Teaching About the School Shooting in Florida: Suggestions for helping students cope with the school shooting in Parkland, FL. Includes links from the American School Counselor Association. Gives ideas to help students understand what happened, how to honor the victims, and the role of students in telling the story and their call for action.
Grades: K - 12

Sesame Street: Traumatic Experiences: Resources from Sesame Street to help young children recover from a traumatic experience. Includes videos, short articles, teaching activities, reproducible worksheets, and other resources for children and families.
Grades: PreK - 1

Teachable Moment: From the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, the Teachable Moment was created after 9/11 to assist teachers in helping students cope with the tragedy. Lesson plans are available for a wide range of natural disasters, manmade tragedies and to support children's social and emotional learning. Teachers are free to reproduce TeachableMoment lessons for use in their classrooms.
Grades: K - 12

Other Resources

Flood Recovery Resources: Mentor Research Institute: "The Flood Recovery Coloring Book and Parent Guide," available in both English and Spanish, was written by Dr. Mike Conner after his own family was forced to leave their home during flooding in Oregon. This coloring book walks children through their feelings after this disruption in their lives. Mentor Research Institute is an organization that focuses on mental health issues.
Grades: PreK - 3
Helping your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting: Short advice article from the American Psychological Association about helping children after a traumatic event.
Grades: K - 12
How to Talk to Kids About Difficult Subjects: Caroline Knorr of Common Sense Media gives advice for talking to children about incidents of violence, racism and other difficult topics. The suggestions are focused on three age groups, children ages 2 to 6, 7 to 12. and teens.
Grades: PreK - 12
Listen, Protect, Connect -- Model and Teach: Subtitled: Psychological First Aid (PFA) for Students and Teachers, this brochure from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) suggests how teachers can help students cope with the aftermath of a school crisis, disaster or other emergency. The title outlines the recommended steps in the process.
Grades: K - 12
National Association of School Psychologists: Resources: NASP (National Association of School Psychologists) provides suggestions to help students cope with a variety of issues from social justice to terrorism. A number of Safety and Crisis resources are available in Spanish and other languages.
Grades: K - 12
Natural Disasters and Severe Weather: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed these tips for preparing for and recovering from natural disasters. The types of disasters include earthquakes, extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, landslides and mudslides, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, wildfires and winter weather.
Grades: 6 - 12
Parent Resources -- Special Challenges: The Fred Rogers Company continues the legacy of Mr. Rogers in helping children and parents cope with special situations such as adoption, death, divorce and separation, moving, and tragic events in the news. Each topic includes a short clip from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Thoughts from Fred Rogers,and Helpful Hints.
Grades: K - 2
Preventing suicide: A global imperative: The World Health Organization (WHO), a branch of the United Nations, published this report about how nations can prevent suicide. The report is available in five languages. Additional links provide key messages and myths about suicide.
Grades: 6 - 12
Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Teachers and other School Staff: Published by the World Health Organization (WHO) this publication gives general information about the problem, risk factors and protective factors, how to identify a student at risk, and strategies for prevention.
Grades: 6 - 12
Talking to Children about the Shooting: This short article, published shortly after the Newtown shooting, gives advice about how to talk to children and teens about the shooting. Available from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Grades: PreK - 12
Talking to Children About Violence: From the National Association of School Psychologists this short article gives advice to parents and educators about helping children cope with a violent event. It also gives suggestions of additional resources.
Grades: K - 12
Tips for Talking to Children about the Shooting: A video with Dr. Steven Marans of Yale University, and an article by Benedict Carey guide parents and teachers through the difficult process of talking to children about traumatic events like the Newtown, CT shooting. Published on the NY Times website.
Grades: PreK - 6
When Bad Things Happen: From the Teaching Tolerance website, this article describes the efforts of the schools and other local organizations to help a community recover from a violent incident. It also presents the Psychological First Aid framework, "Listen, Protect, Connect, Model and Teach" from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Grades: K - 12