Since the onset of the pandemic, more than 25,000 Texas youth have experienced the death of a parent of caregiver due to COVID—most of these losses occurring among Black and Hispanic families.

In response, vitalvoices is hosting the conversation, “Tackling the Silent Epidemic of Childhood Trauma & Grief: Psychological Long COVID: What Every Educator Needs to Know,” featuring nationally renowned grief and trauma expert, Dr. Julie Kaplow, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 15. 

The Center for Public Service & Community Research event will provide an overview of how trauma and grief can impact children and adolescents over time and what parents, educators and other adults can do to support youth who have experienced trauma and bereavement.

Kaplow oversees the development and evaluation of novel treatments for traumatized and bereaved youth and disseminates trauma- and bereavement-informed “best practices” to community providers nationwide.

Families that are experiencing a significant number of losses are already facing health disparities, racial traumas, and higher death rates prior to the pandemic—making them even more vulnerable to mental behavioral health issues. Identifying “at-risk” students and adopting a “trauma-and-grief-informed approach” in classrooms are key steps toward ensuring students’ long-term mental health and well-being.

Kaplow is a licensed clinical psychologist, board certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. She serves as Executive Director of the Trauma and Grief Centers at The Hackett Center for Mental Health in Houston and the Children’s Hospital New Orleans Behavioral Health Center. The professor of Psychiatry at the Tulane University School of Medicine serves as CEO of the Lucine Center for Trauma & Grief—a group practice providing free teletherapy services to youth and families exposed to trauma and loss throughout Texas and Louisiana.

To attend this virtual event, register online.

Visit this online site to learn more about vitalvoices' upcoming spring events.