Counselling may be recommended to reduce the development of adjustment problems in students who have experienced any of the conditions or evidence the behaviours that follow:

  1. Lost family members or friends in the event
  2. Was physically injured in the event
  3. Considered self to be in extreme danger during the event 4. Was in a previous disaster
  4. Is involved in another individual or family crisis situation
  5. Is slightly confused or dazed, or shows a slight difficulty in thinking clearly or concentrating on a subject
  6. Wrings hands, or appears still and rigid or clenches fists
  7. Is restless, mildly agitated, and excited.
  8. Has difficulty sleeping
  9. Has either rapid or halting speech
  10. Has inappropriate feelings of depression, despair, or discouragement
  11. Doubts ability to recover
  12. Is overly concerned with small things, neglecting more pressing problems
  13. Denies problems or states that he/she can take care of everything himself/herself
  14. Blames problems on others, is vague in planning or broods bitterly that he/she is a victim
  15. Weeps, with a continual retelling of the disaster
  16. Has blunted emotions, little reaction to what’s going on around them 18. Shows high spirits, laughs excessively

Crisis Checklist

  1. School Site Initial Crisis Screening
    1. Identity event and determine its degree of impact on the school.
    2. Determine if additional support is needed. The School crisis team may request assistance from the district crisis team.
    3. Review facts and determine what information is to be shared with the following:
      1. faculty
      2. students
      3. parents and community
      4. media
    4. Determine how the information is to be shared with staff, students, and parents in order to control rumours and provide factual information:
      1. written bulletins
      2. classroom presentations and discussions
      3. assemblies
    5. Initiate a referral process.
      1. Provide a referral process, including procedures for self-referral.
      2. Maintain a student referral list. Designate where the list will be maintained and by whom:
      3. Designate interview locations:
    6. Establish a sign-in and message center for support service personnel on campus.
    7. Identity high-risk students. Initiate contacts and appropriate interventions.
    8. Interventions:
      1. individual interviews
      2. group counselling
      3. teacher led activities. (guided discussions, journal writing, artwork, pair and share conversations, etc.)
      4. support groups, including trained peers
      5. parent meetings
      6. staff meetings
      7. referrals to community agencies
  2. Debriefing (on a Daily Basis)
    1. Review process and status of referred students.
    2. Prioritise needs.
    3. Plan follow-UD actions
    4. Provide support to crisis team members
    5. Provide support to staff.

Open-ended Questions for Classroom Discussion

  1. What was it like for you when you heard the news?
  2. Did/will you discuss it at home? How did it go?/How do you think it will go?
  3. If you were a member of ‘s family, what do you think you would want at a time like this?
  4. How can you students help each other through this?
  5. What other losses have you experienced?
  6. What do we know about how (cultural group) respond to this type of loss?

How can we respond in ways that are culturally respectful?

General Crisis Intervention Checklist

  • Direct staff and others not to repeat information until verification is obtained.
  • Notify superintendent.
  • Convene CRT and assign duties.
  • Notify building support staff, such as counsellors, psychologists, and/or social workers.
  • Inform closest friends of the affected student and provide support.
  • Prepare a formal statement or announcement.
  • Announce the time and place of an emergency staff meeting.
  • Identify other/additional students, staff, and parents likely to be most affected by the news.
  • Assess the need for additional community resources.
  • Assign trained staff or community professionals to:
  • Provide grief support to students;
  • Review and distribute discussion questions to teachers;
  • Stand-in for absent/affected/substitute teacher; and
  • Distribute lists of community resources.
  • Make an official announcement.
  • Hold emergency staff meeting.
  • As needed, assign team members and other staff to monitor grounds; notify parents, support staff, and feeder schools; provide support to staff; collect student belongings and withdraw the student from school rolls.