Mumbai: To allow healing, let children stay indoors for 2-3 days and start counselling. Don’t overestimate resilience among children and teenagers just because they manage to smile. Let children who have been through a violent or stressful incident stay away from crowds or visitors for at least 2-3 days. Begin counselling to let the healing process begin right away.These are suggestions from mental health experts for children who have witnessed or been through a traumatising incident—be it domestic violence, shooting, or community violence. “After the devastating Latur earthquake in 1993, we saw children playing cricket. Children manage to hide their stress and terror better than others,” said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty, who was at the Powai site where Rohit Aarrya held 17 children and 2 adults as hostages on Thursday. Long-term studies done after the Latur and other earthquakes revealed mental trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder, in survivors.Regarding the children involved in the Powai hostage drama, he said, “The state govt should arrange for a counsellor to talk to these 17 children in small groups of 3. Parents shouldn’t behave like counsellors and should be guided by mental health professionals.” While reports suggest that Aarrya kept the 17 children in a separate room in a studio in Powai, they would have learnt about the situation on their exit, and the exposure will continue from social media and visitors.“Even the violence we watch on screen impacts us. Living through a violent event increases the fear of being alone among people, even children of a certain age, who have been through violence,” said Prof Dr Neena Sawant from KEM Hospital in Parel. “If the child is too young, they can’t verbalise but could have anxiety issues,” she said.Research has proved that children can get night terrors, especially nightmares, intrusive memories, as well as increased anxiety. PTSD could also occur a few months later among children; depression has also been noticed. A senior psychologist said that some children develop trust issues after surviving violence. “The distrust could extend to family members, even parents,” the psychologist added. The trust issue could also affect their social abilities as well as relationships in the future. Witnessing violence affects children’s abilities to learn; some may find it difficult to play or study, while some are known to develop aggressive behaviour.Dr Shetty said that the police should do a psychological autopsy of the hostage-taker Aarrya. “One should speak to his family and friends and analyse his intentions so that skilled interventions can be designed to ensure that no copycat events take place,” he added.
