The impact of Hurricane Katrina on the many children who have survived the trauma could result in a large array of potential emotional problems.

In the short run, the most common psychological and behavioral symptoms that children show in response to disastrous events are as follows: sleep disorders, bad dreams, persistent thoughts of the traumatic events, belief that another hurricane or flood will occur, hyper alertness, avoidance of any stimulus or situation that would remind them of the event (even going swimming), behavioral problems (most commonly temper tantrums), and physical symptoms.

In younger children, preschoolers, one may see clinging to parents, hiding under the bed, refusing to leave home, and regression to bed wetting, thumb sucking, and baby talk.

If the parents have been severely traumatized by the events, then there is a contagious effect on the children as a result of the interaction between them and the children's symptoms may become worse. The families with the greatest amount of distress are the ones who were the closest to the catastrophic events.

The long term effects may assume a somewhat different clinical picture. There may be a low level chronic depression, as shown by low self esteem and poor school performance. There may be frequent episodes of anger with vandalism and destructive behavior. In older children, there may be an increase in the use of alcohol and drugs. There may be a pervasive lack of confidence in the ability of adults to be protectors and a fatalistic outlook about the future.

An additional issue for these children is the significance and meaning of being displaced into unfamiliar environments. Feeling out of place and being treated as refugees could be extremely destabilizing for the survivor families, as they could become a burden for the hosts. If the displacement is time-limited, then the potential for friction is minimal. However, if the stays are long term,  we would anticipate conflicts. The large number of evacuees would make for crowded conditions in schools, playgrounds, and other facilities, with the evacuees being treated as interlopers. Children could be affected by such conflicts and could feel unwanted and rejected.

SUGGESTED TREATMENT TECHNIQUES

Drawings, structured and unstructured.
The use of news stories and pictures as vehicles for discussion.
Story writing.
Play therapy.
Group psychotherapy.
Trauma-focused individual psychotherapy.

The main thing that we  learned from 9/11 is not to force survivors, children and adults, to re-live the traumatic experiences too close to the event and too intensively. One needs to respect the defenses and give the survivors a chance to deal with this on their own before one expects them to relive the traumatic events.

IF ANY MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS NEED CONSULTATION, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE BARR-HARRIS CHILDREN'S GRIEF CENTER AT (312) 922-7474 OR BY E-MAIL.