Respond to at least one of your colleague's postings in one or more of the following ways: Include references.

• Ask a probing question.
• Share an insight gained from having read your colleague's posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Make a suggestion.
• Expand on your colleague's posting.

Colleague Post:

Posta brief description of the traumatic event you selected.

The Black Lives Matter movement occurred within recent years. Many black children and adolescents were traumatized by their parent's arrests and deaths that were becoming rampant. Children could hide, citing that they were scared because people from other races hate them (Melendez, 2020). It is traumatizing for a child to watch footages of their parent being killed by police officers either due to their race or any other crime that they had committed. This was a recent scenario in the case of George Floyd and his children, who have to go through the trauma of losing a parent.

Then, describe two symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly seen with this type of trauma and explain why.

If Floyd's daughter watched the footage, she might experience nightmares or flashbacks or disturbing memories during the day about the trauma. Reliving the trauma over and over again may bring about this symptom (Boelen & Spuij, 2013). The exact image and sound can be experienced through flashbacks, and the child will believe that the event is happening again. Another symptom is that the child may show aggressiveness than before or even become more violent (Boelen & Spuij, 2013). A child who witnesses a violent murder of a parent or family member will become more aggressive as a sign of self-defense. They are unlikely to trust the people surrounding them.

Finally, explain one way you might be affected when working with children or adolescents who have experienced this traumatic event and why.

When working with a child who has lost a parent through a violent act, a mental health professional can experience negative psychological effects and develop adverse effects on how they perceive themselves, others, and the world (Culver, McKinney & Paradise, 2011). For instance, if the therapist is black, he or she may experience vicarious traumatization in terms of increased anxiety and feelings of personal vulnerability in the same environment.

References Boelen, P. A., & Spuij, M. (2013). Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in bereaved children and adolescents: Factor structure and correlates. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 41(7), 1097-1108.

Culver, L.M., McKinney, B., & Paradise, L.V. (2011) Mental health professionals' experiences of vicarious traumatization in post-hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 16, 33-42.

Melendez, L. (2020, 06, 05). Children face the trauma of violent images since George Floyd's death. Retrieved from Heart of Illinois: https://hoiabc.com/2020/06/05/violent-images-take-their-toll-onchildren/