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Coping with Traumatic Events: Resources for Adults & Children

We are deeply saddened by the tragic events of yesterday in Newtown, CT. These violent and traumatic events often result in significant distress among not only those present but also those watching on television or talking about it with others. In fact, repeated exposure to violence via television or radio can increase distress and trauma, ESPECIALLY in children. So, we are posting some resources about traumatic stress, how to help yourself and how to speak to children about what happened. Of course, if you feel that you need more help, please contact your physician or a psychologist right away.

The Disaster Distress Helpline website has several PDF’s that can be downloaded – an important one is:

Also, The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is a hotline that you can call if you need help coping with the stress of a disaster.

It is the nation’s first hotline dedicated to providing disaster crisis counseling. The toll-free Helpline operates 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. This free, confidential and multilingual, crisis support service is available via telephone (1-800-985-5990) and SMS (Text ‘TalkWithUs’ to 66746) to U.S. residents who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or man-made disaster, incidents of mass violence or any other disasters. Callers are connected to trained and caring professionals from the closest crisis counseling center in the network. The helpline staff provides confidential counseling, referrals and other needed support services.