Dr. Jean Bellows said the effects of trauma on children can be determined by looking at pictures they draw. Bellows said to gain a truer understanding of the level of trauma, "it is important to look at childrens' drawings over time and asking them what the picture is about."

Most people will be able to overcome a trauma with the help of family and friends, but about 25 to 30 percent will develop chronic stress disorders and need expert help, she said.

Bellows, a trauma expert from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, is on the Coast with seven doctoral students to study the traumatic effects of Katrina. She spoke Monday night during a lecture at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport.

The group was invited by Memorial and Coastal Family Health Centers and the trip has been funded by a grant from IBM.

Bellows and the students have been in the area for the last week and have presented talks as well as been in the field talking to people about their post-Katrina experiences and how they have been coping.

Psychological trauma affects different people in different ways, she said.

If there is a layering effect of multiple traumas (loss of a parent, life-threatening illness, natural disaster), then it becomes more difficult for the patient to recover. Most people will overcome their trauma within a few months, but for those with a layering of these tragedies it may take much longer.

(Source: Sun Herald)