Guidance for supporting groups and teams after a traumatic event

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While it is important to acknowledge disasters when they happen, it is equally important to minimize additional impact and trauma to one another. Learn more about how to support your colleagues, teams and each other after incidences of mass violence, large disasters or impacts after the death of a student or staff member.

Please note: The following information is intended to help people offer informal support and self-care sessions or meetings that are not therapy. If you would like to talk through this guidance to prepare to use it in practice, please contact the Dean of Students Office. We may also be able to provide a staff member to help facilitate a group conversation depending on timing and staff availability.

    Things to be aware of following a traumatic event or loss

    • Impact may show up in a variety of ways over the next few days, weeks and even months and can look different from person to person.
    • Not everyone will be responding in the same way to an incident or loss. Some may have no response or reaction at all. This is all normal and ok.
    • Sometimes people forget to take care of themselves in this process so it is most important to encourage basics like sleep and rest, eating, hydrating, showering/bathing, etc.
    • People may experience a number of changing emotions, including but not limited to, numbness, sadness, anger, guilt, shame, ambivalence and confusion.
    • Recognizing and healing from the impact of mass violence, loss and natural disasters can follow multiple pathways (depending on personal experiences, cultural background, religion and many other factors).
    • We, as staff, want to foster (and not interfere with) the natural support and healing functions that various sub-communities of the campus community already have in place and are utilizing.
    • It is important to encourage self-care, including but not limited to sleep, healthy eating, and connecting with their already developed support systems.
    • These natural healing functions might be vested in groups such as academic or social organizations to which the students/staff/faculty belonged, as well as already existing colleagues
    • You may want to keep informed, but try to limit the amount of news you take in. Overexposure can actually increase stress. It’s okay to take breaks to distract yourself from thinking about the incident.

    Following up with a team or group after a death or traumatic event

    While we will want to support students and staff requests for space to discuss these experiences, we want to be mindful that staff/faculty need to avoid imposing any program of “debriefing” onto any students/staff or group of students/staff. Avoid gathering people in a big group to talk about how they are feeling or how they are impacted as that typically creates more heightened emotions and can even delay recovery.

    • Discourage detailed descriptions of what people experienced (reliving/telling of what occurred) which can add additional impact and trauma to others in the group.
    • Remind the group that impact can vary from person to person and to anticipate potential future impacts or delayed impacts.
    • Focus on factual information, coping skills and self-care.
    • Limit conversation around graphic details and personal experiences which can increase anxiety and fear. Individual counseling is a better way to support more in-depth, emotional responses to these types of situations.
    • Single session/meeting (voluntary, not mandatory) with opportunities for individual follow-up.
    • Provide referrals to support resources.
    • Emphasize existing strengths, resources and support structures.

    Avoid holding debrief sessions

    It is important to avoid holding debriefs (open dialogs for people to share how they have been impacted) as this can cause more negative impact than help. Debriefing often results in heightened emotions and can increase anxiety and depression. Some research has seen debriefs make it worse for those who attend compared to those who do not. Vicarious trauma can occur amongst participants when listening to others experiences of the disaster.

    Sample outline for leading a support session

    1. Introduction
    • Describe the purpose of the optional meeting
    • Acknowledge the event
    • Establish ground rules, which could include:
      • Listening to understand
      • Avoiding judgment
      • Being conscientious of others
      • Avoid interrupting
    2. Shared understanding

    Provide factual information about what has occurred (this part is not graphic in nature but a brief description).

    3. Impact
    • This is not about what occurred but the now
    • Participants could share one or two words on impact. Avoid more than a 1-2 word check-ins and this should be optional.
    • Facilitator normalizes responses and provides education around how impact can vary:
      • Mention how not all people are always impacted and how impact can vary from person to person.
      • Also mention that there can be potential future impacts that may not be present now and say this is all normal and ok.
    4. Strategies for Coping and self-care
    • Participants can share their strategies for coping
    • Facilitators can then provide self-care activities to try and free self-care ideas
    • Sometimes people forget to take care of themselves, so focus on self-care and remind them it’s ok to take breaks.
    5. Mobilization of social supports
    • Identify informal (friends, family) and formal (counseling, church) resources for ongoing support
    6. Wrap up
    • Thank participants for attending
    • Acknowledge experiences, impact, and strengths
    • Provide opportunities for individual follow-up
    • Share campus resources

    How to Help Others

    • Encourage them to take care of simple physical needs like getting nourishing food, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and exercise and most importantly, having people around them who are willing to help them.
    • Help can often come simply in silence, being willing to spend time with them.
    • Reach out to them rather than expecting that they will know what they need and waiting for them to call you.
    • Some may need permission to take more down time. For others the structure of work and school may be a welcome distraction and place for support.
    • Don’t immediately encourage them to change their schedule, follow their lead.
    • Help people find a number of sources of support. Close friends, family and colleagues all play different roles in support.
    • Let them know about formal confidential resources and informal support services on campus.
    • Let your own feelings and impact inform your caring without comparing or imposing your story on theirs.
    • People often find the need to take breaks from their impact yet feel guilty about doing this so it can be helpful to normalize it and offer such opportunities (i.e. a walk, a movie, getting coffee together, etc.)
    • Remember that impact from trauma is a nonlinear process. It often comes in waves where people may do well for a while and then can be triggered by something and get down for a bit and then feel well again. These waves can occur over a stretch of time.

    Learn more

    If you would like to talk through this guidance to prepare to use it in practice, please contact theDean of Students Office. We may also be able to provide a staff member to help facilitate a group conversation depending on timing and staff availability.