John Bearoff – Trauma, Grief and Loss in the Classroom: Supporting Students When Tragedy of Loss Occurs

Outline

The Universal Experience of Trauma, Grief & Loss

• Stages of grief: normal progression vs. pathological grieving
• Commonly held misconceptions of about grieving
• Types of losses and events that trigger grief & trauma
• Our personal loss history – how it affects our response to our students

Manifestation of Trauma and Grief in Students

• Most important ways in which kids reactions differ from adult reactions
• Childhood trauma and grief: normal vs. abnormal
• Acute and chronic feelings following loss and trauma
• Child/adolescent reactions: concrete, black-and-white, tendency to generalize, repetitive, physical, cyclical
• The effects of trauma and bereavement on school performance and behavior

Interventions for Loss at Each Developmental Stage

• Behavioral changes and warning signs indicating the need for support
• Differences between intervention for children and adolescents
• Case examples

One-to-One In-School Interventions for Trauma, Grief, and Loss

• The Big Four: death, divorce, illness, and abuse, when and how to intervene
• Strategies to encourage students to talk about their loss
• Techniques to validate expression of feelings
• Tips to confront and overcome irrational fears
• Individuals’ current and future safety, security

Classroom Wide interventions

• Impact of an individuals’ loss on the whole classroom: how to help
• Large-scale tragedies and disasters: how to help
• Strategies to encourage students to help grieving classmates
• Answering students’ most frequent questions
• The impact of a new student on both the student and your classroom
• Steps to create student support groups

Interventions to Support Students Outside of School

• Effective strategies to assist parents in helping their children
• In-school resources to offer parents
• Connect parents to outside resources for children and themselves

Support for Staff Members

• Proactive strategies to prepare staff for trauma, grief and loss
• Interventions and support for teachers following trauma, grief and loss

Postvention Plans for your School and District

• Immediate short term interventions for your school
• Coordinate short term interventions with your district
• Long term, school and district interventions
• Case examples of established, successful postvention plans