Helping Children Cope With Disasters and Terrorism

This text offers psychotherapists and others involved in emergency response contemporary information on the immediate and lasting effects of trauma on children and adolescents. This volume demonstrates children and adolescents do have significant reactions that can interfere with their current and future psychological adjustment. Who is most at risk, and what can be done? This text reviews the research and intervention literature on a broad range of natural and man-made disasters, from floods and house-fires to acts of terrorism and war. Chapter authors document children's reactions, identifying factors that may predict or, alternatively, buffer against severe trauma responses. Descriptions of preparatory and post-disaster coping materials and interventions developed for use with children are included. In addition to setting the research agenda and paving the way for theory and model building in this evolving field, this volume has a strong practical emphasis, offering strategies for when and how to intervene, based on clinical observations and empirical evidence.