Storytelling to Support Children’s Recovery from Disasters

Priscilla Dass-Brailsford & Rebecca Hage Thomley

Natural disasters occur suddenly and unexpectedly, but these relatively common events have the potential to cause severe community disruption, displacement, economic loss, property damage, death and injury, and profound emotional suffering. The traumatic consequences of disasters affect children psychologically, spiritually, cognitively, behaviorally, and socially with long-term impacts on their development, e.g., negative alterations of self, fostering perceptions of distrust, unpredictability, and worthlessness (Blake, & Fry-Bowers, 2018). Children who experience natural disasters have unique challenges and fears related to displacement and uncertainty (Szente, 2016). Other concerning issues are anxiety, depression, relational problems, sleep disturbances, withdrawal, and suicidal ideation (Kanewischer, 2013; Salloum, et al., 2015). Children who have had traumatic experiences tend to receive diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Salloum et al., 2015). Despite their vulnerability, children can show remarkable resilience in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, their ability to bounce back and erroneous assumptions about caregivers and families always protecting them contribute to children being overlooked by disaster researchers and practitioners. In addition, most disaster professionals lack child development expertise to intervene appropriately. Thus, children’s needs are often ‘missed’ in disaster preparedness and disaster response planning (Blake, & Fry-Bowers, 2018).

Books for Disaster-Affected Children

Storytelling is a well-established psychosocial method to help children heal and develop practical coping skills after traumatic experiences (De Vries et al., 2017). This intervention modality may be less threatening and therefore encouraged for children who have experienced disasters; it facilitates social support, self-expression, and coping to promote a return to pre-disaster feelings of security and control (Szente, 2016).

Using literature promotes adjustment and provides opportunities to organize and sequence experiences, enhance understanding, and provide opportunities for self-reflection (Montgomery & Maunders, 2015). Reading is comforting and helps children cope with challenging experiences (Jensen, 2020). Stories educate children and address emotional challenges by building coping skills and supporting resiliency. When coupled with processing or discussion, research has found positive outcomes in children’s emotional, social, and cognitive functioning (Lucas & Soares, 2013; McCulliss & Chamberlain, 2013). Through the process of reading stories, children can identify and express feelings of loss and grief, self-blame and feelings of helplessness are reduced while safety and distance from the trauma increases; the story validates a child’s experience and enhances self-efficacy (Jensen, 2020; Montgomery & Maunders, 2015).

Priscilla Dass-Brailsford

Rebecca Hage Thomley

Citation: Dass-Brailsford, P., & Hage (2024). Storytelling to support children’s recovery from disasters. Trauma Psychology News, 19(2), 8-9. https://traumapsychnews.com