Helping Teenagers Cope with Trauma

Listen and Give Support

• Explain what has happened and answer their questions honestly and truthfully.

• Listen to their words and pay attention to their feelings. Watch their body language.

• Encourage teens to express their feelings and reactions so you can help them deal with all that is going on inside of them in a safe place.

• Be patient and supportive and assure them that their reactions are understandable, common and normal. Do not rush their process.

• Do not be judgmental and punitive. Teens need to feel safe with you, especially when they are feeling scared and hurt.

• Remember that anyone who goes through a trauma feels scared and vulnerable and needs to feel emotionally safe.

• Do not tell the teens how they should feel and react. Listen and support them as they share.

• Tell them what you appreciate about them. Teens need positive support after trauma even more than usual.

Be Understanding and Accepting

• Concentration and memory are often impaired after trauma and teens may need help getting work done.

• Understand that teens often want to be with their friends and not their families.

• Know that teens may exhibit childish, immature behaviors, regress back to earlier stages of development and then act very mature and adult. They are both a child and adult after trauma.

• Remember that everyone recovers differently from trauma and that teens may seem to be fine at first and then need help later.

Encourage and Be Involved

• Help teens get back into a routine as soon as possible even if they cannot do all they used to do.

• Sometimes teens talk better and share more when they are doing activities such as walking, driving, games, sports, hobbies or similar activities. This is especially true for boys.

• Suggest that they can express their reactions and feelings through writing journals, art, music, drama, dance or other expressive media.

• Give them appropriate responsibilities and duties, and expect that they will fulfill them. Support them when they do and help them get on track if they don’t.

• Encourage them to get involved with positive activities with other teens, especially activities they enjoyed before the trauma.

Visit www.tigconsortium.org for more information.