According to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security there have been 138 recorded school shooting incidents in 2022 so far**. If you are raising school-aged children you’ve probably encountered parental and child anxiety surrounding the topic of school shootings. A challenge the current generation of parents are facing is that their children are most likely going to hear about devastating events like school shootings, one way or another. When scary things happen, children depend on the adults in their life for knowledge and comfort. This can be difficult for parents to navigate when attempting to protect children from topics that can potentially cause discomfort, anxiety,or even trauma. Along with parents’ concerns for their child’s safety, they must consider their child’s anxiety. You might wonder how you should talk to your children about these occurrences or whether you should even bring it up. You may be concerned about what your child has heard, what kind of media they are consuming, what their perceptions on school shootings are, and if they are struggling with stress, anxiety, PTSD, etc. School shootings and gun violence may seem like an inappropriate topic to bring up to children, but chances are your child has already heard or seen things relating to the topic. Additionally, children may sense a parents avoidance of the subject and gather that it is something too horrible to talk about. Addressing the issue directly with your child allows you the opportunity to assess what your child has been exposed to, their thoughts or perceptions, mistaken beliefs, and emotions towards the topic of school shootings. This will also allow you to consider what steps you need to take based on your child’s personal experience. Children are extremely resilient, but taking steps to ensure your child is processing this information in a productive and healthy manner can help protect from or mitigate symptoms of anxiety, trauma, & PTSD. When having a discussion with your child about a school shooting or other tragic events, make sure your child feels they are in a comfortable and safe place. If they express they are uncomfortable talking about school shootings or refuse to engage, respect their wishes and let them know they can come to you if they have any questions or change their mind.
    Step one: Take the time to talk to your child in a safe and comfortable setting for them. Step two: Ask your child if they heard anything about the school shooting and allow them to explain to you what they have heard, their perceptions, beliefs, or misconceptions about school shootings. If there is anything that you may need to explain or correct, do so respectfully. Step three: Provide your child with the time to freely ask questions and take the time to answer them. Make sure to explain at a developmentally appropriate level and remember that avoiding answering a child’s questions can cause more anxiety for the child. Step four: Explain to your child that the world is mostly a safe place, but sometimes one person can make a bad decision and that is why schools take precautions to prevent school shootings everyday. Step five: Check in with your child to see if they have any more questions about what was explained and report any remaining concerns. Brainstorm with your child on possible things you could do to make them feel safer and to mitigate child anxiety. It is just as important for parents to check in and take care of themselves too in order to be able to better help their children and model a healthy coping for their child. Parents can monitor their child for signs of anxiety, trauma, or PTSD. Parents should look out for signs of stress, anxiety or changes in typical behaviors. The American Psychological Association reports that behavioral and emotional changes in children and adults are normal in response to a traumatic event such as a school shooting. Children can experience a wide range of emotions such as fear, grief, anger etc. They may display behavioral changes such as difficulty sleeping, change in eating patterns, difficulty concentrating and more. These changes typically begin to fade from 4-6 weeks ***.  If parents find that their child is struggling behaviorally or emotionally they should take time to talk to them and allow them to freely express their thoughts and feelings. Identifying coping skills that would work best for them to utilize when they feel anxious, angry, sad etc. could be helpful for the child to have a plan. Effective coping skills can include things like going for walks, talking to a trusted adult, breathing exercises, or asking for a break.  If parents find that behavioral and emotional changes are significantly impacting the quality of the child/family’s life or have not subsided after 4-6 weeks it may be a good idea to seek out a therapist to help. Utilizing a mental health professional can help the child and the family better cope with significant symptoms of anxiety, trauma and PTSD. 
 Citations: ** 	“View Chart.”  Incidents by Year , https://www.chds.us/ssdb/view-chart/?chartid=8.  ***	“Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting.”  American Psychological Association , American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/topics/gun-violence-crime/shooting-aftermath.  

How to Talk to Your Children About School Shootings

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that helps individuals learn to recognize and change irrational, disturbing, or damaging thought patterns that negatively affect emotion and behavior. It is based on the idea of connection between our thoughts, emotions, and actions, meaning the way we think and feel often affects how we behave. CBT therapy focuses on identifying and challenging the spontaneous and automatic negative thoughts and perceptions that often result in emotional distress, anxiety, and depression. Once these thought patterns are identified, people are taught to replace them with more objective and realistic thoughts, which can lead to positive behavioral changes.    CBT therapy tends to focus on current issues and issues moving forward. It involves a variety of techniques as one size does not fit all. Although this is not an exhaustive list, CBT therapy techniques may include:   Identifying goals  that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time limited (SMART). Questioning  to discover assumptions you may have about yourself or a situation that may need to be challenged or expanded. Journaling  helps identify negative thought patterns which can be replaced with positive ones. Learning positive self-talk  can help replace critical thoughts with more kind and compassionate self-talk. Cognitive restructuring  looks at identifying and replacing cognitive distortions that may negatively affect thoughts such as all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, catastrophizing, or should/must beliefs. Thought recording  helps one develop more realistic thinking patterns by recording thoughts produced by a particular situation and putting that thought on trial with unbiased evidence for and against the negative belief. Positive activities  scheduled to improve mood such as enjoyable exercise, a picnic, long bath, or watching a favorite show. Homework  is an important part of CBT therapy to practice and improve the techniques learned such as catching negative self-talk and replacing it with empathetic talk.   CBT therapy can be used to treat many different issues; you don’t need a mental health diagnosis to reap its benefits. It is often popular because it’s a brief, structured form of therapy that can help one quickly identify and deal with specific problems. CBT therapy can address emotional challenges and help someone: Learn coping techniques for a variety of general life stressors Identify and manage emotions, including anger Deal with career issues Learn communication skills and conflict resolution  Deal with relationship difficulties or low self-esteem Set goals and increase motivation/focus Treat Insomnia Cope with grief, loss, a medical illness, and trauma caused by abuse/violence Manage chronic physical symptoms (IBS, fatigue, pain, injuries)   CBT therapy can improve many mental health disorders including: Depression Anxiety disorders, including panic and phobias Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Sleep disorders Eating disorders Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Substance use disorders Bipolar disorders Schizophrenia Sexual disorders 
 A 2018 meta-analysis of 41 studies found that CBT helped to improve symptoms in people with anxiety and anxiety-related disorders. CBT for anxiety looks at the negative distortions in how we perceive ourselves, others, and the world around us. The goal of CBT for anxiety is to identify and correct these negative distortions and beliefs that contribute to anxiety. The idea is if you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel. If you can change the way you feel, you can change the way you react in situations that trigger anxiety.  CBT for anxiety techniques include:  Learning to recognize when you are anxious and what it feels like in your body Learning coping skills and relaxation techniques to counteract anxiety and panic Confronting imagined or real fears   Additionally, several studies have shown the effectiveness of CBT in depressive disorders. A meta-analysis of 115 studies has shown that CBT is an effective treatment strategy for depression and combined treatment with medication is significantly more effective than medication alone. CBT for depression aims to correct irrational thinking which leads to depression. It addresses issues of dependence, helplessness, and hopelessness by teaching appropriate responses and coping techniques to feelings of depression. Benefits arise from many types of therapy, but CBT offers the following specific key advantages: Time  – the course of therapy is short – typically 5 to 20 sessions in all. Affordable  – because of the short duration, CBT therapy may cost less than other options. Long-term results  – research on depression shows that those who have engaged in CBT therapy are less likely to relapse than those who took antidepressants with no therapy.    Flexible  – sessions may be offered in various formats including in-person, online, over the phone, individual or group Practical  – tools acquired, and skills learned in CBT can be applied immediately to everyday life. Empowering  – people are empowered by the active role they play in their own healing through CBT.  Over time, the goal is to use the tools learned from CBT to overcome issues on their own. Healthier thinking  – makes one aware of negative and unrealistic thoughts that darken moods allowing one to engage in healthier thinking patterns   Starting therapy can feel scary and overwhelming, and you may feel nervous about your first session.  It can be difficult to share thoughts and emotions with a stranger but be assured you will be received with warmth and unconditional positive regard by a Heritage counselor.  One of our goals is to establish a relationship that promotes your healing.    Your first visit to a Heritage counselor is focused, structured and typically an hour and 50 minutes in length. Your therapist will discuss the following with you:  Emotions, feelings, and symptoms you are experiencing including physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach upset, or body aches.  Specific difficulties you are facing, no matter how large or small.  Feel free to share anything that comes up for you. A few general therapy policies and procedures, such as cancellation policies and confidentiality, session length (normally 50 minutes after the first session), and number of sessions your therapist recommends. Goals for therapy and what you want from treatment Questions you may have regarding anything that comes up during the first session, including, but not limited to the counselor’s areas of expertise, how you’ll know therapy is helping, what will happen in future sessions, and how your therapist can help if you are having thoughts of suicide or find yourself in a crisis.   Although CBT therapy can improve distress you may experience, it will not necessarily eliminate it all. CBT therapy techniques aim to give you the tools to deal with difficulties as they inevitably arise in life. Results take time, possibly weeks or months. There is little risk to engaging in CBT, but therapy can be very emotionally challenging, even painful sometimes. You may experience anger, tears, fatigue, or general upset during a challenging session. Restructuring long term negative thought patterns is major work, so patience and kindness towards oneself is key.     If you think Cognitive Behavioral Therapy may be a good fit for you, please call 214-363-2345 and speak with our admistravice team. We can pair you with a therapist that specializes in your specific needs to get you to where you want to go.  
                                                                                                                                                               Sources: [1]   https://www.healthline.com/health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy     [2]   https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/about/pac-20384610     [3] Carpenter J, Andrews L, Witcraft S, Powers M, Smits J, and Hofmann S.  Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta‐analysis of randomized placebo‐controlled trials .  Depression and Anxiety . 2018;35(6):502–14. doi:10.1002/da.22728   [4]   https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/therapy-for-anxiety-disorders.htm   [5] Fennell M. Cognitive behaviour therapy for depressive disorders. In: Gelder M, Andreasen N, Lopez-Ibor J, Geddes J, editors.  New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry.  New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. pp. 1304–12. [ Google Scholar ]   [6]   https://doi.org/10.1177/1755738012471029 


CBT Therapy - What is it, and How Does it Help?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is commonly associated with veterans, however its effects can felt by anyone who has witnessed or been victim to a traumatic event in their lifetime. PTSD symptoms can include anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, and emotional detachment. These symptoms cause significant distress in an individual, through which counseling is a crucial element in change. Counseling is a safe place where you are able to explore fears and worries as you start your road to recovery. Bio/neurofeedback in addition to therapy can help to alleviate symptoms experienced with PTSD at an elevated rate.

Symptoms Services

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

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How to Talk to Your Children About School Shootings

CBT Therapy - What is it, and How Does it Help?