Providing a space of shared strength and resilience for our Weill Cornell Medicine community, the Department of Psychiatry has responded swiftly to provide support in the face of tragedy. Immediate support efforts included live support groups for our internal Weill Cornell Medicine community, hosted by Drs. Stephanie Cherestal and Judith Cukor. Our faculty and staff members also collaborated on a variety of resources to provide additional tools for building resiliency skills and providing practical coping strategies. Below you will find relevant resources, which will be updated as we continue to support the mental health of our community.
Resources for Families
Coping in Response to Tragedy: A Guide for Families
Psychologists from the Center for Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian have created a guide to help families with difficult conversations on coping with tragedies. The best thing you can do for your kids is to create opportunities for open conversations. These will provide a forum in which your family can share information, ask questions and express feelings. It's also important to take good care of yourself. You’ll experience the calming benefits of self-care while modeling these behaviors and strategies for your children. In this guide, you will find more meaningful advice that may help you weather the current crisis and even bring you closer as a family.
The Impacts of Recent Events on Youth Mental Health
In this podcast episode, Dr. Shannon Bennett highlights how recent happenings in the news can impact the mental wellbeing and anxiety levels of children. She reviews what parents can do to have open conversations and developmentally appropriate dialogue with their kids on what is being shared across media.
Resources for All Patients
On Trauma - Part 1: The Long-Lasting Impact of Traumatic Events
In this podcast episode, Drs. Jessica Hartman and Daniel Knoepflmacher define trauma, describe the range of long-lasting psychological effects that can emerge after a traumatic event, identify the importance of adverse child experiences and explore trauma informed care. The discussion also reflects on the difference between individual trauma, collective trauma, and intergenerational trauma.
On Trauma - Part 2: Treatments That Build Resilience in the Face of Adversity
In part two of this two-part discussion on trauma, host, Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher, speaks with Dr. Jessica Hartman about treatments that can build resilience after a traumatic event or experience. We explore various options for treatment, including different forms of psychotherapy, medications, and new interventions that are showing significant promise for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Hartman also highlights steps outside of formal treatment that can be taken by individuals or their loved ones who want to help alleviate the effects of trauma.
Resources for Clinicians and Teams
Supporting Your Team: Maintaining Morale Through World Conflicts
There is significant diversity of thought surrounding current news and world conflicts, which can sometimes be accompanied by an intensity of emotion or a discomfort with or intolerance of others who do not share one’s views. This poses a significant challenge to discourse surrounding these topics, even in the workplace. More importantly, it threatens our community with the alienation of those from other backgrounds or with divergent views. In this brief guide created by Drs. Stephanie Cherestal and Judith Cukor, it outlines how to create goals for supporting your staff and recommendations on how to check in with each other.
Helping Our Patients Through Adversity: A Guide for Clinicians
Join Dr. Judith Cukor for a video discussing ways that clinicians can help their patients through adversity. Learn the basics on a variety of approaches for connecting with patients and checking in on their emotions in the face of distressing world news. It is also important to remember that this can be a difficult time for clinicians, as well, so remember to set aside time for self-care.
Resources For Self-Care
Self-Care During Current Traumatic Events
Join Dr. Michelle Pelcovitz, assistant attending at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine and assistant professor of psychology in clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Dr. Morgan Cohen, clinical child and adolescent psychology postdoctoral fellow at NewYork-Presbyterian, for a discussion on self-care during current traumatic events.