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Ground rules for such sessions
are basic support group rules:
. Group facilitators guide.
. Each participant has the right to pass, or remain silent when given
a turn to speak.
. Interaction among group members must be respectful; and, most importantly,
. Information shared is confidential, unless the facilitators have reason
to believe that someone is in danger of hurting himself or others. In
such a case, appropriate help would be sought and/or referrals
would be made.
As with most support groups,
the initial structure and tone of the debriefing are set by the facilitators.
As the group begins to coalesce, it is less the facilitator's task to
set guidelines and more the task to serve as moderator, ensuring each
person's chance to speak and guiding discussion through appropriate
phases. The following suggested debriefing structure is one that has
been found to be effective in school settings.
Introductory phase
In this stage, the climate should be established, the process explained
and the guidelines created for group interaction. Having members introduce
themselves around the circle as soon as possible helps to set an interactive
tone and suggests that each person will get a chance to talk.
Facilitators can guide students
in setting ground rules by simply asking, "What do you need to be comfortable
here?" and charting students' responses. It is the facilitator's task
to ensure that confidentiality, the right to pass and mutual respect
are on the list of responses. If students do not suggest one or more
of these requisites, one of the facilitators might state, "I know I'm
more comfortable if I don't think I'm going to be forced to talk. How
about you? Do we need that up on our list?" Once the list is complete,
it becomes the set of ground rules for the debriefing without the word
"rules" ever having been used.
The introductory phase is
critical to help group members understand that feelings are acceptable,
that no one will be disrespectful and that there is a structure to follow
in the debriefing process.
Facts phase
When a crisis hits a school, students may react in a couple of ways.
They may talk among themselves and try to make sense of what appears
to be a senseless event. Such exchanges can feed a rumor mill and create
false information. Youngsters may not talk about the event at all, thus
increasing their sense of isolation. In either case, the fact phase
of the debriefing helps inject reality into the situation and provides
each student an opportunity to share his/her experience of the event
Facilitators must bring as
much objectivity as possible to the discussion. One way to encourage
group members to talk is to suggest that they speak in the order of
their involvement in the event. Those who arrived first speak first
and describe the scene. Such structure helps recreate the incident as
it unfolded and encourages each member to be involved. During this phase,
students explore and work toward agreeent on the sequence of events
and the role each played in the incident. Finally, students can be asked
what they did during the incident.
By the time each student
has had several opportunities to describe the major phases of the incident
from his/her perspective, the events will become clearer for each student.
Youngsters will realize that they were not alone and that others were
similarly affected. In this way begins the process of normalizing individual
reactions, a critical element in recovery from stress.
Reactions phase
Feelings experienced during and after a crisis can be very intense.
This phase of the debriefing encourages students to talk about their
feelings and also allows them to learn that their feelings are part
of a natural emotional response to a crisis event. All students should
be encouraged to participate in this phase, but none should be forced.
Coercing students to share their feelings is a form of re-victimization.
Also important to emphasize
is that feelings, regardless of how intense, need to be expressed, but
not categorized as right or wrong. For example, if a student expresses
guilt over some part of the event, the facilitator might say, "I'm not
surprised you wish you could have done something differently. People
who care often feel deeply after this kind of event. But given the situation,
tell me what you really could have done differently." Any feeling a
student may share should be acknowledged and validated. Trauma reactions
are different for each person and include a vast range of feelings.
This debriefing stage should
also include dealing with feelings that may arise after the crisis has
ended. Nightmares, stomach upsets, agitation, confusion and other such
delayed stress reactions should be shared and discussed. Students need
to hear that reactions such as these are to be expected and are a normal,
residual part of the crisis experience. A facilitator may initiate discussion
by asking if students have had trouble sleeping or have experienced
upet stomachs since the incident.
Another area to explore during
this phase is implications related to the event. Allowing youngsters
to talk about the reercussions that the crisis event may have in their
lives helps students adjust to present reality. Asking them to describe
ways in which the event has affected their families, school, health
and friends helps young people continue to vent and to begin to restore
their life perspectives.
A common response by parents
after a traumatic incident in their child's school or community is to
pull back on the reins and tighten the supervision of their child. Such
a response, though understandable, may trouble youngsters who may have
lost a friend to death, but now have lost some of their own autonomy
as well. Young people need an opportunity to talk about this additional
loss.
Teaching phase
In the teaching phase of a debriefing, the facilitators must actively
summarize the salient facts of the crisis event and clear up any misconceptions
about the incident. In addition, facilitators should share information
about short- and long-term stress symptoms the group members may experience.
They should explain typical trauma reactions - including physical, cognitive,
behavioral and emotional symptoms - and take note of group members'
more serious stress symptoms that may require professional attention.
