Helping students recover after trauma: Classroom activities

Emerging Minds, Australia, 2018

Related to Bereavement, loss and grief, Disasters, Preparing for natural disasters, Trauma

Teachers often ask how they can help students who have experienced a disaster or traumatic event. Being familiar with the types of reactions that your students can have is the first step in helping them. Knowing how to work out if there is something more serious going on and how to help children and their families get the assistance they need is also particularly important.

There are specific things that you can do in the classroom to help children who have been directly or indirectly impacted by traumatic events.

Discover more resources

Fact sheet

Educators and childhood trauma reactions: How and when to get help

Emerging Minds and the University of Queensland

This fact sheet outlines how educators can understand when children might require additional help following a traumatic event, as well as how they can arrange help for students.
Fact sheet

Trauma sensitive behaviour management

Emerging Minds

This fact sheet outlines ten tips for creating a trauma-sensitive classroom for children exposed to stressful events and trauma.
Fact sheet

How educators can help in the classroom following a traumatic event

Emerging Minds and the University of Queensland

This fact sheet outlines the ways that Educators can help children in the classroom following a traumatic event.
Webinar

A whole child approach to disaster recovery

Emerging Minds and Mental Health Professionals' Network (MHPN)

This webinar, co-produced by the Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN), our panel of experts explore ways to support infants and children following a disaster.
Webinar

Relationships matter: Walking alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents

Child Family Community Australia & Emerging Minds

This webinar with Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) explores ways that practitioners can build a deeper connection with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
Research summary

Highlights in child mental health research: September 2024

Prepared by AIFS

This September 2024 research summary provides a selection of recently released papers, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses related to infant and child mental health. Each summary includes an introductory overview of the content for the month, followed by a list of selected articles. Each article is accompanied by a brief synopsis which presents the key messages and highlights. Links to abstracts, full-text articles and related resources, where available, are provided.
Practice paper

Why we need to support infants and children before, during and after disasters

Emerging Minds

Infants and children rely on the adults around them to meet their needs, keep them safe and help them to make sense of their world. This puts them at greater risk of adverse impacts when a disaster occurs. This practice paper introduces the foundational knowledge and skills needed to support children and families at all stages of a disaster (preparedness, response and recovery).
Practice paper

Disaster preparedness with a focus on infants, children and families

Emerging Minds

This practice paper is designed to help you understand the importance of disaster preparedness for not only increasing safety and protecting lives when a disaster occurs, but facilitating the recovery of individuals, families and communities. It also offers practical advice for supporting the disaster preparedness of the children and families you work with.
Practice paper

Understanding how disasters influence infants and children

Emerging Minds

This practice paper aims to equip practitioners with knowledge about the ways disasters can influence a child’s ecology and the importance of targeted support for children’s resilience and recovery in the short and long term.
Practice paper

Supporting infants, children and families in an evacuation

Emerging Minds

This practice paper explains why it’s important to consider pregnant people, infants, children and families in evacuation planning and management. It provides practical considerations and strategies for ensuring evacuation procedures and centres meet the needs of infants, children and families and enhance their safety, wellbeing and recovery.
Practice paper

How psychological first aid can support infants, children and families who experience a disaster (part one)

Emerging Minds

This paper is the first of two and introduces psychological first aid (PFA), a psychosocial support approach that can reduce distress and support the mental health of infants, children and families who have experienced a disaster.
Practice paper

Psychological first aid with infants and children: Practice guidance (part two)

Emerging Minds

Part two of two: This paper provides guidance to practitioners offering psychological first aid with infants, children and families in the context of a disaster.

This resource is part of the following toolkits

Community Trauma Toolkit

304 Resources
Toolkit Sections:

Helping students recover after trauma: Classroom activities

Emerging Minds, Australia, 2018

Discover more resources

Educators and childhood trauma reactions: How and when to get help

Trauma sensitive behaviour management

How educators can help in the classroom following a traumatic event

A whole child approach to disaster recovery

Relationships matter: Walking alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents

Highlights in child mental health research: September 2024

Why we need to support infants and children before, during and after disasters

Disaster preparedness with a focus on infants, children and families

Understanding how disasters influence infants and children

Supporting infants, children and families in an evacuation

How psychological first aid can support infants, children and families who experience a disaster (part one)

Psychological first aid with infants and children: Practice guidance (part two)

This resource is part of the following toolkits

Community Trauma Toolkit

Toolkit Sections:

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