TOLERANCE AND PATIENCE NEEDED TO CARE FOR YOUNG IN BOMB AFTERMATH
Tolerance and patience needed to care for young in bomb aftermath
Tolerance and patience will be key themes for those caring for young people trying to come to terms with the aftermath of the Omagh bomb atrocity, a leading expert in trauma counselling said this week.
And a strategy has been drawn up by the Western Education and Library Board to give support and counselling to pupils affected.
Pupils from throughout the area were caught up in the events which followed the August blast. Six young people who were either still at school, or who had just left, died in the explosion. Others were injured, but there were many more who witnessed the aftermath of the blast and experienced the loss of friends.
The Board called in Elizabeth Capewell and colleagues from the Centre for Crisis Management and Education. The group includes specialists in managing trauma in schools.
Indeed, Mrs Capewell has helped in the aftermath of the major disasters at Hungerford, Hillsborough, Lockerbie and Dunblane.
She explained this week that the aim was to enhance the ways schools, support staff, children and pupils had coped with the trauma.
As a general principle, the group believed it was right to encourage young people to express their feelings to people who could give them support, Mrs Capewell told the Tyrone Constitution.
Experience had shown that it was helpful for children to express their trauma in writing, as well as orally.
However, it was not always possible for friends to give the level of support needed, and that was where the specialists and the strategy came in, she said.
And she said that no one should feel reticent in seeking help from the people who could give it.
Mrs Capewell said young people would be experiencing many different emotions at present.
Some she said would feel emotional. Others would feel numb and shaken.
Welling
It was though, natural to feel this way. If emotions were welling up it showed that bodies were reacting to stress as they should.
While reactions were normal after traumatic events, they could still be distressing, she added.
She went on "About now some people may be feeling guilty that they survived or were not injured. When you care for people you always wish you could have done more.
"People always find reasons to be guilty after any bereavement, and there may also be a jealousy that others are getting more attention.
Not only would those who were in Omagh feel a reaction, but those who had been away from the area at the time also felt a reaction, often in having missed what was an important part of community life and mourning."
She said there were danger signs for parents and teachers to look out for.
"If anyone feels a child is in real danger to themselves or others and if they are doing anything extreme then help should be sought immediately.
"If a child is withdrawn, it they are talking about suicide or if their behaviour changes, then help is also needed," she said.
She said experience of other disasters had shown that one example of changed behavior in young men was a tendency towards reckless driving - as if they were defying death.
She said a point of immediate contact was the community trauma and recovery team at the High Street emergency co-ordination centre - telephone 252599 or their family doctor. The trauma team is working closely with voluntary organizations in the area providing support and counselling.
She further said that suicide was also a factor that had to be watched for, especially in those who were already vulnerable.
Omagh had already experienced one major trauma this year in the death of Sylvia Fleming, and a combination of factors could affect people, she said.
Encouragement
But she also had some words of encouragement.
"People do find their way through these events. Others have come through the most horrific trauma. Each journey is different, some take longer than others.
"We have to be tolerant and patient of the different rates of adjustment," she added.
People were still emotionally raw about what had happened, and, for some, the events of last Sunday, when there was a bomb scare in Omagh, had brought the events in August back to them, or, in some cases, made them realize they, too, had reactions.
Over the past couple of weeks Mrs. Capewell has been working closely with the education board, and she praised the chief officer, Mr. Joseph Martin, and his officials for the open way they had approached the issue.
The Education Board had done an amazing job, Mrs Capewell said, and had given her team total freedom to go about their tasks.
Tolerance and patience will be key themes for those caring for young people trying to come to terms with the aftermath of the Omagh bomb atrocity, a leading expert in trauma counselling said this week.
And a strategy has been drawn up by the Western Education and Library Board to give support and counselling to pupils affected.
Pupils from throughout the area were caught up in the events which followed the August blast. Six young people who were either still at school, or who had just left, died in the explosion. Others were injured, but there were many more who witnessed the aftermath of the blast and experienced the loss of friends.
The Board called in Elizabeth Capewell and colleagues from the Centre for Crisis Management and Education. The group includes specialists in managing trauma in schools.
Indeed, Mrs Capewell has helped in the aftermath of the major disasters at Hungerford, Hillsborough, Lockerbie and Dunblane.
She explained this week that the aim was to enhance the ways schools, support staff, children and pupils had coped with the trauma.
As a general principle, the group believed it was right to encourage young people to express their feelings to people who could give them support, Mrs Capewell told the Tyrone Constitution.
Experience had shown that it was helpful for children to express their trauma in writing, as well as orally.
However, it was not always possible for friends to give the level of support needed, and that was where the specialists and the strategy came in, she said.
And she said that no one should feel reticent in seeking help from the people who could give it.
Mrs Capewell said young people would be experiencing many different emotions at present.
Some she said would feel emotional. Others would feel numb and shaken.
Welling
It was though, natural to feel this way. If emotions were welling up it showed that bodies were reacting to stress as they should.
While reactions were normal after traumatic events, they could still be distressing, she added.
She went on "About now some people may be feeling guilty that they survived or were not injured. When you care for people you always wish you could have done more.
"People always find reasons to be guilty after any bereavement, and there may also be a jealousy that others are getting more attention.
Not only would those who were in Omagh feel a reaction, but those who had been away from the area at the time also felt a reaction, often in having missed what was an important part of community life and mourning."
She said there were danger signs for parents and teachers to look out for.
"If anyone feels a child is in real danger to themselves or others and if they are doing anything extreme then help should be sought immediately.
"If a child is withdrawn, it they are talking about suicide or if their behaviour changes, then help is also needed," she said.
She said experience of other disasters had shown that one example of changed behavior in young men was a tendency towards reckless driving - as if they were defying death.
She said a point of immediate contact was the community trauma and recovery team at the High Street emergency co-ordination centre - telephone 252599 or their family doctor. The trauma team is working closely with voluntary organizations in the area providing support and counselling.
She further said that suicide was also a factor that had to be watched for, especially in those who were already vulnerable.
Omagh had already experienced one major trauma this year in the death of Sylvia Fleming, and a combination of factors could affect people, she said.
Encouragement
But she also had some words of encouragement.
"People do find their way through these events. Others have come through the most horrific trauma. Each journey is different, some take longer than others.
"We have to be tolerant and patient of the different rates of adjustment," she added.
People were still emotionally raw about what had happened, and, for some, the events of last Sunday, when there was a bomb scare in Omagh, had brought the events in August back to them, or, in some cases, made them realize they, too, had reactions.
Over the past couple of weeks Mrs. Capewell has been working closely with the education board, and she praised the chief officer, Mr. Joseph Martin, and his officials for the open way they had approached the issue.
The Education Board had done an amazing job, Mrs Capewell said, and had given her team total freedom to go about their tasks.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1182
Published Date: 10-Sep-98
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