WASHINGTON-- For those across the country who may be struggling to cope with the Virginia Tech tragedy, the American Psychological Association (APA) has made free materials on managing traumatic stress available through its online Help Center.
APA has created three new fact sheets to help college students and parents understand traumatic stress and its effects, better cope with the situation personally and be prepared to discuss the tragedy with their children.
Materials specific to the Virginia Tech shootings include the following new fact sheets:
Tips for College and University Students: Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings explains the typical response to traumatic stress that many people experience including shock, sorrow, numbness, fear and other emotions. The fact sheet provides strategies for helping students return to their daily life and strengthen their resilience.
Tips for Parents of School Age Children: Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings offers information for parents struggling with the best way to talk to their younger children about school violence and the current situation in Virginia. The fact sheet offers tips reminding parents that children look to them for safety, urging families to take news breaks and keep home a safe place, while watching for signs of fear, stress or anxiety.
Stress Management Tips for Parents of College Students in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings provides coping strategies for parents who may have children entering college or living away from home on a college campus. Tips assure parents that it's normal to experience anxiety, feelings of helplessness and anger but offer recommendations for managing distress and feeling positive about their students' safety.
For more information on traumatic stress and post traumatic stress disorder, visit APA's Help Center.
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.
SOURCE: American Psychological Association