Got Crises??

1
Got Crises??

• S.C.A.T.
• SCHOOL CRISIS ASSISTANCE TEAM RESPONSE MODEL

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Adaptive Capacities vs. Stressors

• These balance over time with progression of
  Maslows hierarchy of needs being met.
• Goal is to get them back into some boundary of
  equilibrium.
• Boundaries will forever be changed.
• Events may affect priorities.

3
Manifestations of Crisis Reaction Physical

• Frozen fear.
• Fight, flight, or adapt.
• Exhaustion.

4
Manifestations of Crisis Reaction Mind Response

• Shock, disbelief, and denial.
• Roller coaster of emotions.
• Reconstruction of equilibrium.
• All stimuli enters the brain sensorially.
• If brain perceives that stimulus is threatening,
  it forgoes the interpretation part and goes
  straight to the limbic system.

5
Factors of Crisis Response

• Safety and Security
• Ventilation and Validation
• Prediction and Preparation

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SAFETY

• Concern for the victims/survivors physical
  safety and medical needs.
• Giving victims and survivors a sense of
  connection with other people in a secure setting.
• Making sure their basic needs are being met.

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SECURITY

• Helping survivors find privacy for expression of
  emotions.
• Ensuring confidentiality of communication.
• Reassuring survivors that their reactions are
  acceptable and not uncommon.
• Helping survivors begin to take control of the
  events going on around them.
• Supporting survivors in their efforts to achieve
  a sense of emotional safety.

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SOME HELPFUL HINTS

• Respond to the need for nurturing, but be wary of
  rescuingvictims may become dependant.
• Help survivors contact loved ones whom they trust
  and would be willing to assist them.
• Help survivors solve immediate problems that have
  been caused by the tragedy.
• Help survivors re-establish a sense of control,
  one step at a time.
• Make sure victims feel safe and secure when you
  are talking to them.

9
Ventilation

• Be prepared to offer a compassionate presence via
  body posture and neutral facial expression.
• Be aware of the speaking style used i.e., speak
  clearly and calmly, pace your words so you speak
  at an even tone.
• Focus on concrete issues. Avoid asking why
  questions and feelings statements.

10
Validation

• Validation is based on effective hearing by
  caregivers.
• Words should be used carefully in validation.
• Repeat key elements of the survivors stories.
• Do not validate survivors experience by telling
  them your experience. Caregivers should stay
  focused on the survivors and not use intervention
  to validate their personal reactions.

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Some Helpful Hints

• Open the discussion with Im sorry that this
  tragedy happened to you.
• Ask survivors to describe the event where they
  were, what they heard, what they saw, etc.
• Ask them to describe their experience through
  their five senses.
• Ask survivors to describe their reactions and
  responses in the aftermath.
• Let survivors talk as long as they want, but when
  there is a pause, validate what was talked about.
• Dont assume anything. Survivors will tell you
  what happened and how they reacted.

12
Prediction

• Practical predictors relocation, medical
  concerns, financial stressors, funeral
  arrangements, death notifications, media.
• Possible emotional reactions.

13
Preparation

• Provide survivors/victims with referrals to
  additional resources for counseling, advocacy, or
  assistance.
• Give survivors accurate and truthful information
  about the length of time you will be able to
  assist them and what they might do when you are
  no longer available.
• Help survivors decide what things they can do to
  deal with specific problems.
• Do not make promises you cant keep.

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Some Helpful Hints

• Remind survivors to focus on living one day at a
  time.
• Help them explore options and use problem-solving
  techniques with everyday concerns.
• Encourage them to write or talk about the event.
• Suggest they establish a daily routine.
• Memories and memorial time.
• Find a buddy for the survivor.
• Promote healthy eating, sleeping, and exercise
  habits to increase ability to cope.

15
Child Reactions to TraumaSome Considerations

• Dual impact the direct impact on them, and
  their reaction to the impact on their parent or
  parents.
• Living in the present.

16
Birth 2 Years

• High anxiety levels manifest in behavior
• May retain physical memory if not a strong mental
  memory of the trauma

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2 Years 6 Years Pre-school

• Children may not have the same level of denial as
  adults, so they take in a catastrophe more
  swiftly.
• May engage in reenactments and play about the
  event.
• Anxious attachment behaviors are exhibited toward
  caretakers.
• May become mute, withdrawn, and still.

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2 Years 6 Years Pre-school

• May regress in physical independence.
• Sleep disturbances.
• Does not understand deathmay feel angry or
  rejected.
• Manifest a short sadness span over and over.

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6 Years 10 years School Age

• Play continues to be the primary method of
  expression.
• Sense of loss and injury may intrude on the
  concentration of the child in school.
• Radical changes in behavior may result.
• May fantasize about event with savior ending.

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6 Years 10 years School Age

• Withdrawal of trust from adults.
• May become tentative in growth towards
  independence.
• Internal body dysfunctions are normal.
• May have increasing difficulty controlling their
  behaviors.
• May regress to previous developmental stages.

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Pre-adolescence10-12 for girls, 12-14 for boys

• Become more childlike in attitude.
• Anger at unfairness of disaster.
• May manifest euphoria and excitement at survival.
• See symbolic meaning.

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Pre-adolescence10-12 for girls, 12-14 for boys

• Often suppress thoughts and feelings to avoid
  confronting disaster.
• May be judgmental about their behavior.
• May have a sense of foreshortened future.
• Sense of meaninglessness or purposelessness.
• Psychosomatic illnesses may manifest themselves.

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12/14 Years 18 Years

• Most resemble adult post-traumatic stress
  reactions.
• Anger, shame, or betrayal acted out through
  rebellious acts in school.
• May move into the adult world ASAP to establish
  control over environment.
• Judgmental about own behavior and others.
• Their survival immortality.
• Often suspicious and guarded in their reaction.

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12/14 Years 18 Years

• Eating a sleeping disorders common.
• Depression.
• May lose impulse control.
• Sense of meaninglessness may lead to alcohol/drug
  abuse.
• Fear the disaster or tragedy will repeat itself.
• May have psychosomatic illnesses.

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Coping Strategies for Children

• See handout.