VT College of Science Magazine Fall 2005 | Page 11

Russell Jones (l) counsels Katie Bowyer (r), 12, of Blacksburg, while her mother, Angela (c), observes. Katie survived a tragic house fire in February 2005 that took the life of her grandfather. She spent four months in the hospital – most of them in critical condition – before she was able to return home and begin to put her normal life back together again. “We interview survivors and assess their level of psychological distress,” Jones said. “The most common pathological outcomes include depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome.” REACT Most of the children studied reported that a house fire was the most traumatizing event they had ever experienced, and 75 percent of them believed they could do nothing to prevent house fires. That’s where Jones and his clinical team go above and beyond empirical research. Through a program called REACT (Recovery Effort After Child Trauma), they provide assistance to help children and families recover Hope from a fire. “There are currently no long-term systematic programs that we know of to assist children after a fire,” Jones said. “We hope that our model will be a template for other communities across the country.” after tragedy photo by John McCormick Studies show one in every five families will experience a fire in their homes. Someone is injured by fire every 37 seconds and killed by fire every three hours. About 70 percent of these fires are residential, and most could have been prevented. Sobering statistics. And yet researchers in the College of Science’s Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech are offering more than a flicker of hope to families whose lives have tragically gone up in flames. Russell T. Jones, professor of psychology, and his team have studied the influence of major technological and natural disasters on children’s functioning for the past 26 years. His most recent endeavor was the completion of a $1.2 million National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) grant assessing the impact of residential fire on children and their parents. “Residential fires are unique in that they typically impact one single family,” Jones said. “After the fire trucks are gone and the Red Cross has completed its efforts, families are basically left to fend for themselves. This isolation may lead to even greater levels of psychological distress.” Jones found in his research that fire emergencies have potentially deleterious consequences on children and their families – consequences that may continue for years after the disaster. put their lives back together,” Jones said. “Many parents are not aware of what’s really going on with their kids.” Jones said a classic response to a negative event is to avoid talking about it. “We know from research that avoidance inadvertently reinforces the fear,” he said. Beyond Psychological Counseling Research shows those most likely to be injured by fire are children and the elderly, and burn injuries are the thirdleading cause of death in children each year. Many victims of fires are from low-income families. The REACT team assists families psychologically and helps identify service needs and connect them with resources, such as school counselors, churches, the American Red Cross, and social services. There are currently no long-term systematic programs that we know of to assist children after a fire. The goal of this free program is to help children and their families overcome their physical and psychological hardships resulting from residential fire and return to their previous levels of functioning. Using cognitive behavioral strategies, the REACT team helps children and their families cope with the devastating impact of the fire. The Fear Factor “Most victims feel an unbelievable sense of loss after a fire,” Jones said. “Children typically report a number of fears. Often they are very worried they won’t survive the next time there is a fire.” The REACT team helps children feel more control over their situations by talking about and processing their fears as well as negative thoughts and memories of the event. They are also taught empowering skills such as the “stop, drop, and roll” technique and fire safety and relaxation procedures. “Fear is an important emotional aspect that can get overlooked when the adults in a family are trying to pick up the pieces and In addition to the NIMH study, two FEMA grants enabled Jones’ group to study both injured and non-injured children following fire-related trauma. He is also spearheading a project in conjunction with the Yale Child Study Center designed to treat children after a residential fire. Jones’ research and humanitarian efforts are nationally recognized. He was recently featured in a PBS documentary on young burn victims and presented some of his collaboration with Yale on C-Span at the First International Conference on Trauma and Psychosocial Issues held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For Russell Jones, his personal and professional priorities are children. Even though he and his wife, Virginia, a counselor, don’t have children of their own, they are actively involved in helping them. “My life’s focus is all about advocating for kids,” he said. “Children can’t speak for themselves.” For more information about REACT, contact Jones by telephone at 540/231-5934 or by e-mail at [email protected]. College o