PESHAWAR: Experts have called for four to six weeks of sustained psychological support for survivors and families of the 31 children killed in the recent roof collapse at a private school in Peshawar, warning that those affected would need continued counselling to cope with the trauma of the tragedy.
They also stressed the urgent need for comprehensive psychological assessments and trauma-focused interventions for the two most severely affected children.
They were speaking during a medical camp organised by the Khyber Association of Clinical Psychologists (KACP) in collaboration with Syed Sultan Psychiatric Hospital here the other day.
The activity was meant to providepsychological support, human connection and a safe beginning to the healingprocess ofthe survivors ofthe tragedy.
On the occasion, KACP co-founder Prof Erum Irshad said structured bereavement support for families who had lost children was among the urgent interventions required, alongside psychological first-aid training for school staff.
She also called for the long-term integration of mental health services into school disaster preparedness and response plans across the province.
The camp identified psychological distress among children and their families through activities that did not require them to recount their traumatic experiences.
Ms Irshad, who is a former chairperson of the department of psychology at the University of Peshawar, said they understood that children did not needanother reminder of what had happened but rather an environment where they could feel safe without being pressured to speak.
Instead of asking children to describe their traumatic experiences, psychologists engaged them in creative activities, in line with the principles of psychological first aid, which emphasise safety, calm, connection, self-efficacy and hope, she said.
She said international guidelines also caution against forcing survivors to recount traumatic experiences through psychological debriefing.
‘The team believed that healing should begin with trust, not interrogation.
Ms Irshad said beyond the investigation and its findings, the deepest consequences of the tragedy were being borne by the families, children and teachers who had to continue living in its aftermath.Dr Mehwish Sultan of Syed Sultan Psychiatric Hospital said children did not need to relive the worst day of their lives in front of strangers. ‘What they needed first was a safe adult, a predictable environment and the freedom to express themselves in their own way.
She said the survivors had witnessed horrific scenes and were likely to experience psychological distress, making comprehensive psychological assessments and appropriate interventions essential.
KACP’s Dr Saira Ayub said one household had lost four children. She said the activities organised by the team formed the heart of the children’s programme. These included ‘Feelings Through Colours’, ‘Emotional Weather’, ‘Safe or Comforting Place’, ‘Growing Tree’, ‘Garden of Hope’ and ‘Helping Hands’, as well as free drawing, colouring, pasting and collagemaking.