Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "They should not be afraid of traumas, but of mismanagement of traumas"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan participated in in the 8th Education Summit organized by Yıldız Technical University Child and Education Club. Tarhan, who made a presentation under the title of 'Communication with Children after Disasters', emphasized that instead of being afraid of traumas, one should be afraid of mismanagement of traumas. Stating that a life without trauma is not possible, Tarhan said that the important thing is to turn traumas into opportunities.

"We manage our brains to be our own leaders"

At the event held at Yıldız Technical University Davutpaşa Campus, President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan talked about how trauma and stress disorder should be managed in children and drew attention to the relationship between human and brain. Tarhan stated that "We need to know what to understand when we talk about trauma and stress in children. Here, it is necessary to know the human and brain relationship and the human-body relationship well. In fact, when we say child education, we make changes in the brain, that is, we change the network in our brain. After that structural condition in the brain changes, some scars become permanent, and some scars can continue as childhood trauma. If a person can be their own leader, they can be the leader of a family. They can be the leader of a classroom, and they can be the leader of any institution. That's why we manage our brains to be our own leaders. Thus, we need to know that we are training their anterior brain when we educate a trauma and a person. In childhood, the left brain is the rational brain. It is related to logic, reasoning, analysis, speaking and calculation. The right brain is the emotional brain, and it is about music, art and aesthetics. The anterior brain also provides the balance between the two. Therefore, as the forebrain matures, the person matures.".

"Five matters decide whether the child has trauma or not..."

In the program attracted great interest from teacher candidates, Tarhan said which experiences could be traumatic and continued his remarks as follows: "Neglect such as removal of children from home, natural disasters, technological disasters, violence from the family and society, terrorism, physical violence, school violence, discrimination, prejudices, racism, substance use incidents, traumatic separations, asylum, war experiences, serious accidents, life events, stress related to military families, family losses are all general medical definitions of childhood trauma..."

Noting that five matters in trauma decide whether the child will have trauma or not, Tarhan said that "The severity of the event, the relatives of the person related to the incident, the reaction of the parents, whether that person was prepared before the trauma, factors in the family and society..."

Do not be afraid of trauma, but mismanagement

Stating that one should be afraid of mismanaging traumas instead of being afraid of traumas, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "A life without trauma is not possible. Every child has more or less trauma, but the important thing is to turn traumas into opportunities. In every traumatic event, in every traumatic life, there is a threat dimension and an opportunity dimension. If you focus on the threat dimension, you will become depressed, and your self-confidence will go away. There will be post-traumatic stress disorder, there will be anxiety, and there will be many psychiatric diseases… However, if you say, 'What has this taught me?' and look at the opportunity dimension from here, these traumas are traumas that develop you. Traumas are an inevitable fact of life, the important thing is to turn that trauma, that natural disaster, into an opportunity. In post-traumatic communication, we will say, 'What did this event teach us?' and then learn from the past with the teaching of this event. We will learn from the past, we will live in the present; however, we will look to the future. The moment you teach this to a child, that child learns to manage themselves. Therefore, let's not be afraid of traumas, let's be afraid of mismanagement of traumas."

The child should not be led to despair and pessimism...

Emphasizing that the most important thing to do in post-traumatic communication with the child is not to lead the child to despair and pessimism, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "The most important thing we can do in post-traumatic communication with the child is not to lead them to despair and pessimism. The child takes care of the mother and father. If he is not hopeless pessimistic, if one is standing, if one is enduring, the child learns to endure. For this reason, takes behaviors as examples, not what is said in natural disasters, man-made disasters and the loss of a loved one, the child. People who do not feel that there is a safe space around them cannot overcome the trauma they experience. Post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, and many other diseases cause problems in advanced ages. Therefore, the magic concept here is to solve that person with a special communication without making them despair and pessimistic, and to make them feel that they are with the child. When that child feels that they have someone they trust with them, they tolerate that trauma."

"It is important to be an active listener..."

Answering the questions from his students, Tarhan answered the question about how the attitude and approach of the teacher of a child who has experienced trauma should be as follows: "Guidance counselors have an important role to play here. There, it is a good event for the child to tell about the trauma. It is necessary to listen without answering, that is, it is important to be an active listener. When there is what we call active communication, where there is eye contact, nods from time to time, makes you feel understood, repeats the last word he heard and asks again and again… Then, the child says, ‘My teacher understood me.’ If you make the child say, 'They understood me,' you have succeeded 50 percent. Even the sharing of that child has a therapeutic effect on trauma."

Reporter: Eda Nur Keçeci

Photograph: Ceyda Nur İshakoğlu

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)