About suicide – For young people

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.

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.

Following a disaster it's common for children to experience increased separation anxiety. This resources explores how parents can help children to develop safe relationships with other caring adults.

This resource explains the importance of connection, emotional literacy and environment in helping children feel safe, and how regulation can be achieved through the body using sensory- and movement-based exercises, along with fun, relaxing and mindfulness activities.

This resource offers strategies to support children in making sense of their experiences and process their feelings to help reduce distress, and prevent trauma and mental health difficulties.

This resource demonstrates the importance of encouraging play and creative expression to help children unpack, explore and process difficult experiences like disaster. Creative expression is encouraged as a way for children to communicate about complex emotions and feelings, especially when they might be difficult to articulate verbally

Re-establishing routines and setting boundaries and expectations are important for restoring children's sense of stability and safety after a disaster, especially when they have to spend time away from their parents or home.

In addition to the support of extended family, friends and the learning community, responses from governments and specialist mental health services plus digital resources are important to the successful recovery of children and families after a disaster.

This paper is the second of two that discuss culturally responsive practice to support children’s mental health and wellbeing when working with families with diverse cultural (or CALD) backgrounds.

This paper is the first of two that discuss practising cultural responsiveness in working with families from diverse (or CALD) communities to support children’s mental health and wellbeing.