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| Home
> Disaster Preparedness
> Helping Children
> When to Seek Help |
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When
to Seek Professional Help |
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| Children are amazingly flexible,
even though they can be deeply affected by trauma
or losses. Sometimes a child can be helped by
a counselor who can provide a safe place to talk
about what happened and their feelings. Getting
professional help is a good idea if a child shows
any of the following changes for longer than three
months following the trauma: |
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Behavior or academic problems at school.
- Angry
outbursts.
- Withdrawal
from usual social activities or play with
other children.
- Frequent
nightmares or other sleep disturbances.
- Physical
problems such as nausea, headaches, weight
gain or loss.
- Depression
or a sense of hopelessness about life or the
future.
- Alcohol
or drug use problems.
- Dangerous
risk-taking behavior.
- Continued
worry about the event as a primary focus in
life.
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Certain
events may make a child more vulnerable to having
difficulty. If a child has experienced a recent
loss such as a divorce, a death of someone who
was close, or a move to a new neighborhood, he
or she may feel particularly overwhelmed by the
trauma. A traumatic event can reactivate the emotions
associated with previous traumas, which can be
overpowering.
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| Seeing
a counselor does not mean that a child is "mentally
ill" or that you have failed to support him
or her. Following a trauma, many adults and children
have found that it is helpful to talk with a counselor
who has specialized training in posttraumatic
reactions and can help them understand and deal
with how they are feeling. |
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Be
Responsible - Be Ready - Be Prepared!
Your Emergency Preparedness Team
Kings County Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management
280 Campus Drive Hanford, CA 93230
(559) 582-3211, Ext. 2634
www.kingscountyoem.com |
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