Responding to Mass Shootings

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Curt and Katie talk about how to take care of your clients, your communities, and yourself after a mass shooting. We look at the types of victims, the different stages of response, and treatment considerations.

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

In this episode we talk about:

• Responding to the recent Mass Shootings
• The different roles that therapists can be expected to play after a Mass Shooting incident
• The types of victims of these events (from victims radiating out to people who are learning about these events on social media)
• The different stages of trauma response – and the caution to not assume everyone will end up with PTSD
• Who is at risk for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
• The different factors that can lead to an emotional response to the shooting, regardless of how close you are to the incident
• The importance of Psychological First Aid (and how Critical Incident Stress Debriefing can be harmful)
• Vicarious and Re-traumatization, triggers, no response
• The impact of previous traumas
• The importance of community supports and types of community interventions
• Looking at how to assess boundaries and be part in the community healing
• Post-Traumatic Growth and finding meaning, purpose
• How often those with mental illness diagnoses might feel stigmatized when they are scape-goated and should also be supported
• How the role that therapists play can impact therapists
• The careful assessment of how you can help and what you can offer to people impacted by these events
• Important self-care reminders for therapists