Dear Trauma Friends and Colleagues:
The COVID 19 pandemic offers a critical opportunity to share your unique skills in coping with stress and trauma. Many of us and the families we serve may be shifting through the stages of change and grief----denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance---about this pandemic. You may be adjusting to telehealth and virtual visits but know that our families need your reassurance and help in regulating and coping. Hope you’re all practicing self-care while you care for so many others during these uncertain times. Your trauma informed services have never been more important. We’d love to hear from you all in what your agencies or communities are doing to foster a trauma informed response. To help, we’ve compiled many great resources thanks to so many of you for sharing---and we welcome more! See: https://cpeip.
- I love Bruce Perry’s webinar on Staying Emotionally Close in the Time of COVID19. He reminds us that brief, frequent check-ins provide a lot of security and reassurance, so let’s all help ensure that our children in out-of-home care are facetiming, skyping and talking to parents, ideally with daily contact.
- Joy Osofsky has shared a couple of infographics she has developed for supporting children during this time and is doing a webinar Supporting Families and Caregivers of Infants and Young Children Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic on Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 12-1pmbwith Dr Gerry Costa for the NYC Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center. They sent the announcement was sent to all child care providers in New York----trying to do all they can for the children and families impacted by COVID-19!. Feel free to distribute to your group. Announcement Link Registration Link
- Being Your Best Selves During Turbulent Times was created to support child welfare staff, GAL and foster parents. https://cpeip.fsu.
edu/webinars/Mimi_ BeYourBestSelf_PPT.mp4.mp4 - Nemours’ Coronavirus: How to talk to children is great!
- New digital resources to enhance virtual home visits: Choose from over 700+ textable parent handouts from Partner’s for Healthy Baby Home Visiting Curriculum. https://cpeip.
fsu.edu/phb/phb7_1.cfm - We now know that young children are NOT immune to the coronavirus. Thanks to Anne Hogan for sharing the AAP study of pediatric patients from China showing a median age of 7. So please help keep our children safe too! Love the video: Just Stay Inside and Sweet Caroline song to wash your hands and Chandra Ghosh’s therapeutic book, Once I was Very, Very Scared
- We know child abuse will increase during this time. National hotline calls were up 30% yesterday. Judge in our neighboring rural county said he’s signing a DV order every 30 minutes. See the podcast: COVID-19: Helping families impacted by domestic abuse in a time of crisis
- Judge Tepper and Magistrate Strawbridge sent an informative article on Virtual Parent Time. We also know that relationships are what buffer stress and we need to make sure that we’re still checking in with families and that virtual visitations are frequent and that children are connecting with their trusted caregivers.
- Dr. Francois reassures that all will be alright but even more heartwarming is his journey of resiliency: https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=B_ 6HnyKTl54; https://www. instagram.com/p/B9prRBFgrAV/? igshid=13mqsck47rede
Please share other favorites and we’ll add to the list.
Let’s keep connected and support each other, understanding that there’s never been a more opportune moment to help heal. Thank you for all the healing work you do and the all work yet to be done!
With much admiration, Mimi
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Dr. Mimi Graham, Director
FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy
1339 East Lafayette Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Office: 850-922-1302
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