Supporting Students and Staff in the Aftermath of Crisis and Loss

Time: 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET / 12:00-1:30 p.m. PT / 9:00-10:30 a.m. HT / 5:00-6:30 a.m. ChT

Webinar: Supporting Students and Staff in the Aftermath of Crisis and Loss

Presented by David Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement

Hosted by the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office

 

Crisis and loss are common in the lives of students, whether due to a death or crisis involving a student's individual family or one that affects the entire school community. Major events have the potential to cause short- and long-term effects on the psychological functioning, academic achievement, emotional adjustment, health, and developmental trajectory of students.

Classroom educators and other school professionals can play a vital role in providing important support to students to promote their understanding of the event, minimize the academic impact through academic accommodations, help them learn coping strategies to accelerate their adjustment and minimize their distress, and minimize maladaptive coping mechanisms and behavioral difficulties. Yet most educators and other school professionals have had limited to no professional training in how to support students in the aftermath of crisis and loss.

This workshop will help school professionals learn basic skills in how to talk with and support individual students or the entire class/school as they struggle to understand and cope with a crisis or loss in their lives. Dr. Schonfeld will draw on over 30 years' experience in school crisis response and pediatric bereavement to illustrate key points.

Note: This webinar is dedicated to schools navigating crisis and loss connected to the two Parkland student deaths by suicide in recent weeks. The examples provided will be of national interest and resonance. All interested participants are welcome.

 

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Initiate conversations with students in the aftermath of a crisis or after the death of a family member or friend
  • Outline the common symptoms of adjustment reactions in children and adolescents that may occur in response to a crisis
  • Understand the links between trauma, toxic stress, and suicide and the latest findings in neuroscience that cite connectedness as a vital protective factor
  • Discuss the role of guilt in impacting adjustment to a loss or crisis
  • Outline the timeline for adjustment for children after a crisis event
  • Describe grief triggers and advise on how to minimize their impact in a school setting, as well as other academic accommodations
  • Consider issues of professional self-care when supporting children and staff who are grieving or adjusting to a crisis event
  • Know how to access free professional development resources on how to support grieving students via www.grievingstudents.org

 

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

David J Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, established and directs the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (www.schoolcrisiscenter.org) at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California; the Center coordinates the Coalition to Support Grieving Students (www.grievingstudents.org), comprised of over 85 organizations including the major educational professional organizations.

USC School of Social Work Logo

 

Starts: Apr. 23, 2019 12:00 pm
Ends: Apr. 23, 2019 1:30 pm
Timezone:
US/Pacific
Registration Deadline
April 23, 2019
Register
Event Type
Webinar/Virtual Training
Hosted by
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