Resources for helping students cope with traumatic events

Traumatic events can impact the children we care about in various ways. Here is a list of resources, organizations, and hotlines to help educators, families, and students support each other.

Resources

Tips for Caregivers: Talking to Youth: Ideas for helping your child talk through trauma and traumatic events, from the Center for School Mental Health (PDF)

Resources for Dealing with Traumatic Events in Schools: The National Center for School Mental Health has compiled a list of web-based resources to assist school administrators, educators, health and mental health providers, parents/guardians, and other caring adults to better support students following traumatic events such as school shootings. (PDF)

Nine Tips for Talking to Kids About Trauma: The Greater Good Science Center produced this resource following the Paris attacks; it includes helpful information for starting a dialogue with children following traumatic events. You’ll find tips for helping students express themselves as well as a list of outside resources for helping children respond to grief and trauma.

A Teachers’ Guide for Managing Emotional Reactions to Traumatic Events: The National Association of School Psychologists produced this guide for responding to traumatic events in the classroom. You’ll find strategies and tips for talking with students of all ages, with different guides for various age groups. T

Action Steps for Parents and Parent Teacher Associations in the Aftermath of School Violence: The National PTA organization issued a brief on what parents and PTAs can do following a traumatic event.

Organizations and Hotlines

National Mental Health Information Center
Toll-Free: 1-800-789-2647 (English and Español)
TDD: 1-866-889-2647
Website: www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov

New Hampshire Community Mental Health Centers
Regional Mental Health Centers
Website: https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcbcs/bbh/centers.html

Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Child Psychiatry, Behavioral & Mental Health Resources
Website: http://www.chadkids.org/child-behavioral.html

New Hampshire Children’s Behavioral Health Network
Website: http://nh4youth.org/

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Toll-Free: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
Website: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Website: www.nctsn.org

National Association of School Psychologists
Phone: (301) 657-0270
Website: www.nasponline.org/NEAT