Psychologist Jelena Radosavljev says that their parents are constantly contacting them asking for help because of the trauma.
The Institute for Mental Health in Belgrade has opened two telephone lines in order to support the families of those killed in yesterday’s event, teachers and students who need psychological help and support, and according to psychologist Jelena Radosavljev from the Institute for Mental Health in Belgrade, since yesterday afternoon the phones have been ringing almost continuously after the tragedy at the school in Vračar.
“There were also calls during the night. Since this morning, the phones have really been ringing non-stop. Citizens who wanted to leave a comment and provide support also called, but they didn’t parents who lost their children also started calling. “Relatives of children who were in that school, relatives of the deceased, relatives of children who attended that school, teachers… The children are not coming forward for now, but I expect that they will start coming forward,” says Radosavljev.
Parents most often complain that their children will not go to school.
“Most often when parents call, they complain that their children do not want to go to school. The general advice is to be honest and explain to them how unlikely it is to happen again. It is especially important to calm the child down, be with him and especially pay attention to any change in the children’s behavior,” Radosavljev points out.
As he further points out, family members who are noticed changes in the behavior of their little ones.
“Parents can notice that the child is upset and irritable, that he withdraws more… Today, a grandmother called, whose grandson was a witness, who said that the boy was talking so fast that she couldn’t understand him. Another father is said that the daughter absolutely does not want to talk. All these children’s reactions are normal. It is important not to pressure them.”says Radosavljev and adds:
“We expect that there will be frequent calls. Parents should work and talk with the children. If the children will not talk, it is important that the parents talk about how they feel. The children remember that. It is important that we accept the children’s feelings. Those who have been most tragically affected have support. The Institute for Mental Health will enable children and parents to come for support immediately, without instructions and all procedures, and I would really like to ask that those people who really need it use this help,” says Radosavljev.
Today, it is necessary to provide support to children, the psychologist points out.
“Teachers also called with the question of how to start the class. Today, it is necessary for the class teacher to hold a lesson with his children. That everyone should be ready to help the children if necessary. This is a consequence of not having intervened before the last moment. We have been living in a very violent climate for a very long time and the content of the violence is very explicitly shared. They don’t need to see scenes of violence on television, but they can see them on social networks. Believe me, they know the names of those people who promote violence, for some it can be a trigger, because someone may have a background that was already in some way unstable. I don’t know the boy who did it, but most likely there were some signals. We very often don’t notice it, even the most caring parents,” says psychologist Radosavljev for “RTS”.
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Children are afraid to go to school: Belgraders are asking for help, psychologists’ phones are constantly ringing
(MONDO/RTS)