Mental Health Tips for Teachers Mainstreaming the Children of Katrina

A natural disaster of this magnitude impacts everyone, but none more than our vulnerable children.

The number of displaced school-aged children increases daily, and every state is being called upon to assist the evacuees.

For many schools this presents special challenges and added burdens for already overworked and overcrowded systems. The following suggestions were compiled for Comfort for Kids by mental health clinicians from the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center.

They were written with teachers in mind, the front-line heroes and heroines who are taking on more students. You stand to make a big difference in the lives of these traumatized children. Most dedicated teachers will already know how to help; it's second nature and common sense. In a time of crisis, though, it may help to have a brief overview of how kids cope with trauma, along with a few tips for easing the transition.