4 Troubled Teens Blog

After School Shootings, Many Trauma Survivors Don't Receive Professional Help

About 30% of the survivors of a school shooting experienced psychological disorders afterwards but only half of them got professional help, according to a new study from the University of Montréal.

Professor Alain Lesage found that the 1000 survivors of the Dawson College shootings in his study had twice the incidence of posttraumatic stress syndrome, depression, alcohol dependency, and social phobia compared to the general population.

The shooting occurred on September 13, 2006, when Kimveer Gill opened fire at Dawson College, killing one person and himself, and injuring 16 others.

Dr. Lesage concluded that crisis intervention may help survivors should a similar tragedy ever occur.

Labels: schools, ptsd, trauma

Posted By: Jane St. Clair

Comments:

Kensington on 10/4/2010
I know the Univ. of Texas set up counseling for students and faculty/staff affected by the campus shooting they had last week, which is great. It's important that everyone understands they have the option just to vent and unload to a professional without it meaning they should've just sucked it up and handled it "better". These kinds of things (school shootings, etc.) can have a HUGE impact on people that lasts beyond the next few weeks.