David Trickey, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Anna Freud Centre, offers advice to teaching staff faced with disclosures from children about traumatic experiences such as physical, sexual or emotional abuse in the home. You can also read and download our fact sheet.
Transcript
Dr Trickey Introduces Himself
00:00:00 Dr David Trickey
My name is David Trickey, I'm a Consultant Clinical Psychologist from the Anna Freud Centre. I'm also Co-Director of the UK Trauma Council, and I have worked with traumatised and dramatically bereaved children, young people and their families, for more than 20 years.
Teachers Dealing with COVID-19 Trauma
00:00:20 Dr David Trickey
Many of you will be worried about what your students have experienced over the last few months of the Covid-19 lockdown, and some of you will be wondering what can you do to best support them. During the lockdown, many of your students would have heard the news about a deadly virus circulating within the community. That in itself may be traumatic for some of them. Some of them will know people who have been ill, and some of them will know people who have died as a result of Covid-19. They may not have had the opportunity to say goodbye to those people, and they may not have had the opportunity to be socially supported during their grief. Perhaps they couldn't go to the funeral where they were amongst other people who were also grieving. Perhaps they haven't been able to reach out, and connect with their normal social support network, as they would have done previously.
What Trauma Might Children Have Experienced
00:01:15 Dr David Trickey
Those things make that bereavement more difficult to adjust to, and more difficult to process. But more than that, as a result of lockdown there's been a much greater pressure on families, and that will result in more potentially traumatic experiences for your students. So some of them will have been exposed to domestic violence during the lockdown. Some of them may have been sexually abused. Some of them may have been physically abused. We will have seen a higher rate of incidence of those types of events during the last few months than previous months. So, when they come back to school, they may be traumatised. When they come back to school, they may be struggling. Some will adjust quite well to their experiences during Covid-19, perhaps with a bit of additional help and support, but some of them will be traumatised and will have enduring difficulties.
Spotting Signs of Trauma in Children
00:02:20 Dr David Trickey
So things that you might notice with your students is, some of them will have this higher level of physiological arousal. So we have this amazing stress response system that's really good for dealing with short-term, stressful situations. But if they're exposed to chronic stress, or if they're exposed to trauma rather than stress, then actually something changes in their physiological response and they may arrive at school at a higher level of physiological arousal. They may not be able to sleep because they can't calm themselves down. They may not be able to concentrate on the thing that you want them to concentrate on, because, as far as they're concerned, they've got to concentrate on other things that may be threats. People outside in the corridor. People behind them. People outside of the window. So they can't concentrate on your lesson. They can't take the information in. They may be very easily aroused. They may very easily lose their temper, because they're arriving at a higher level than normal, and it doesn't take much to push them over the top.
Internalised Stress and Withdrawal
00:03:30 Dr David Trickey
Some of your students rather than acting out their stress, will keep it inside and internalise it. They may start to seem really low in their moods, really unmotivated and not want to get on with things, and withdraw and they may be the ones that are more difficult to notice. It's easy to notice the children who are acting out and who are hyperactive, or who are unable to concentrate, but those who quietly draw into themselves, may be more difficult to notice.
Trauma and Intrusive Images or Memories
00:04:00 Dr David Trickey
Following traumatic events, some children will have intrusive images and intrusive memories. So memories for traumatic events are different to normal memories, they're stored in a very different format in our brains and they're intrusive and they're vivid and they're volatile, they're very easily triggered. So children might have to work quite hard to keep these images out of their mind. So you're trying to teach them something and actually what they're focusing on is not thinking about whatever it is that's happened to them in the past.
What to Do if a Child Discloses to You
00:04:40 Dr David Trickey
So what can you do if a student discloses something to you? Well the first thing you must do is stay calm. If they see that you are getting worried or anxious about what they're telling you they may stop telling you. The next thing you can do is listen carefully. So find the time and find the space to allow them to tell you more if they want to. Let them know that you've heard them, let them know you've understood what they've told you. Take it really seriously. Take them really seriously and then follow your own school or college's local safeguarding protocol. The most important thing at this point is the safety of the children and young people, not just the one in front of you but maybe other potential children and young people who may be at harm.
If a Child Is in Immediate Danger
00:05:30 Dr David Trickey
If someone is in immediate danger, then it's simple. You phone 999 and you ask for the police. Beyond that you follow your safeguarding protocol and you may talk to your safeguarding lead, they are the best person to help you think through what those next steps will be. Don't promise confidentiality because that's not something that you're in a position to provide.
Closing
00:06:00 Dr David Trickey
So many children would have experienced more traumatic events than previously, some of them will disclose things to you and you are in an incredibly powerful position to respond in a way that is going to be really helpful for them.
