On June 12, America woke up to the terrible news that dozens of people had been killed and injured in a spree of violence perpetrated by a single shooter at a popular nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Within 24 hours, local counselors began circulating a spreadsheet, asking practitioners to sign up
Tag: Trauma and Disaster
Trauma and Disaster
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” — Fred Rogers It was 9:53 a.m. on Sunday, June 12, when I received a text from
The strongest protection against disillusionment is resilience. If you are in the position to help a survivor or someone affected, challenge yourself to be a point of resilience for that person for as long as you can.
Aurora, Colorado. Fort Hood, Texas. Virginia Tech. The Washington Navy Yard. And, most recently, Charleston, South Carolina. Each of these places transitioned from being a name on a map to an instant reminder of the devastating aftermath of mass violence. Another is Sandy Hook, the Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school where shooter
The 10 days that Jeffrey Kottler spent in earthquake-ravaged Nepal this month were exhausting and painful but also some of the most worthwhile work of his career, he says. Kottler served in a medical team with Empower Nepali Girls (ENG), the nonprofit he founded 15 years ago. The help the
In the aftermath of the recent earthquakes that have devastated Nepal, Jeffrey Kottler has found that some of the most effective counseling tools available are empathy and a listening ear. Kottler, a professor of counseling at California State University Fullerton, is in Nepal to join the earthquake relief efforts of
The people of Nepal are focusing on basic needs right now – finding shelter, food and water; staying safe; and caring for family. Anything else, including processing the trauma that comes from experiencing a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, will come later, says Jeffrey Kottler. Kottler, an American Counseling Association member and professor of
“Their normal is chaos, and we have to bring calm.” For public school students in West Virginia, the calm therapist Felicia Bush is referring to comes in the form of an innovative, multidisciplinary program that aims to identify and treat trauma in real time. Bush, a provisionally licensed social worker
Trauma, suicide and bullying are not new topics for most counselors, who at some point in their careers have likely worked with clients on each of these issues. However, as research and practice continue to progress, some counselors are using emerging approaches or perspectives to tackle these problems. At the
If there’s one thing Hallie Sheade wishes people knew about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it’s that the disorder is actually the human body’s natural reaction to trauma. “PTSD is a very normal response to a very abnormal experience,” says Sheade, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) who runs an equine-assisted therapy