In March, clinicians and trainees from the UCLA Prevention Center of Excellence (COE) conducted five workshops in support of families at the John Thomas Dye School who either lost homes or have been permanently displaced by the LA fires. COE facilitators used evidence-based skills from FOCUS (Families OverComing Under Stress), a trauma and resilience informed curriculum that provides practical skills to promote wellbeing for youth and families.
The parent/caregiver-only session covered typical stress responses in kids of all ages, strategies to support healthy coping, and tips on talking with kids about the fires, as well as a question and answer portion. Students from Kindergarten through 6th grade joined groups based on age and gradefor two, one-hour workshops at the school campus. The student sessions complimented the parent/caregiver sessions and taught age-appropriate strategies. Student groups were activity-based, specifically focused on normalizing the range of emotions they may be feeling, ways to cope, and encouraging help-seeking behaviors.
By offering parents/caregivers and their kids similar information adapted for each age group, the groups promoted communication within families by developing shared language around coping with and overcoming stressors related to the devastating wildfires.
