Article archive / November 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 11. Source pages: 16.
Drs. Joy Osofsky and Howard Osofsky of the Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Dr. Anthony Speier, and Beverly Lawason of the Bernard Parish Public Schools system in Chalmette, Louisiana, will present as a Keynote Panel at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies this week in New Orleans, November 5 through 7, at the New Orleans Marriott.
The 31st Annual Meeting of the Society will offer a wide range of symposium tracks including Cognitive Processes/ Interventions, Affective Processes/Intervention, Public Health, Child Trauma, Bio-Med/Genetics, Military, and Assessment and Diagnosis. The theme is Integrating Clinical and Scientific Knowledge to Advance the Field of Trauma.
Osofsky, Osofsky, Speier and Lawason will present on Wednesday, “Katrina’s Children 10 Years Later: Crisis, Trauma, Recovery, Resilience.”
The Keynote Panel will address research and interventions relating to children in Katrina. “The majority of children of all ages in parishes highly impacted by Hurricane Katrina experienced major initial and longer term traumatic stress. Most had major damage or loss of home with one or more displacements, common during the first year,” according to the conference materials.
The researchers indicate that over 1/3 of the children were separated from primary caregivers after the loss of their home, and that 25 percent had relatives or friends injured. Also, 14 percent experienced death of a relative or friend.
Researchers will look at the question: “What is it like for children and adolescents 10 years later?”
“… children and adolescents in St. Bernard Parish. St. Bernard Parish, adjacent to New Orleans, suffered major devastation, with a subsequent oil explosion resulting in a question about whether the parish could or would be allowed to rebuild.”
“The recovery, local community, state, and government responses, the reopening of school, and the role of schools in building resilience in the devastated community will be the focus of the session.”
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