Dear College of Education Community,
As we have continued to experience the impact of the Los Angeles fires as recently as last week, the emotional toll is a very individual experience. According to Melissa Brymer, PhD, director of terrorism and disaster programs at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, “addressing the psychological fallout from the fires begins with understanding that the level of trauma varies from person to person.” While the trauma is greatest for those who lost their homes, Dr. Brymer says “the psychological toll of the wildfires extends beyond those directly affected. Each update or image of devastation on the screen can contribute to mental exhaustion.” This includes evacuations, power outages, and fear caused by the fires close to us that many of our college community have experienced.
To better understand the way the fires have affected each of us, CSUN University Counseling Services has created an excellent resource called Coping with Ongoing Traumatic Events, which isattached. This resource offers wonderful strategies to assist with coping as well as referrals within our CSUN and LA community. I have sent this resource to our college already, but please take another look and share with colleagues and students.
I also want to remind all CSUN faculty and staff that for those of us who understandably need additional support for ourselves and our students, free on-site trauma-informed services for the wildfires are now available at the Teaching, Learning, and Counseling Consortium campus location. Services are provided by our Campus Care Advocates from the Strength United Center and include trauma-informed presentations to campus departments, programs, and classes. These services also include free mental health counseling for faculty and staff impacted by the wildfires. The contact number to request services is 818-677-7492. MFT faculty member Dr. Jennifer Pemberton will be supervising the associate MFT and Social Work campus care advocates providing these services. Please share the attached flyer with information for services with faculty and staff. Thank you! And please remind students that they can receive counseling services through University Counseling Services (818-677-2366) and through the Campus Care Advocates services.
Finally, our college is making plans to offer presentations to faculty and staff about the trauma from the fires including information about how to take care of ourselves and our students. Updates will be coming soon.
For a list of other self-care options, please see our COE self-care website for resources for faculty, staff, students, and the community at:
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/self-care/articles-information-self-care
Please take good care of yourselves as we move through this challenging time together. And please know that the College of Education is here to support each of you!
Warmly,
Shari