Newsround - Hotseat: Child psychologist David Trickey

David Trickey is an expert in helping children who have been through traumatic situations.

David and presenter Lizo answered your questions in a live webchat on Friday.

Here’s how they answered your tough questions in the hotseat.

David_Tricky: I’m David Trickey, I’m a Psychologist who works at the Traumatic Stress Clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. I work together with others to help young people and families cope with difficult and scary events. I’m happy to try and help any of you who are finding things a bit difficult at the moment.

Lizo: Hi chaumine. Tony Blair and the Police said earlier today that it’s important to remember that the only people to blame are the people who carried out the bombings. And that like America, Britain have been at varying levels of alert over the past few years.
But that it was vital to remember that the only people to blame was the bombers.

David_Tricky: Hello - that sounds like a really tough situation for you at the moment - not knowing is in some ways worse than knowing. Do you have people around you that you can be with - it doesn’t always make it better, but at least you won’t have to go through it on your own.

David_Tricky: Hi Oli It is really difficult isn’t it. I’ve been looking at some of the messages during the day and one of the things that lots of people want to know is “why”. Sometimes it’s difficult to answer that question, but we do know that the police are doing their best to find out who. One of the most important things is to be with people that you care about, and talk to them about your thoughts and worries.

David Tricky: We know that people can cope with really difficult events but sometimes they need help to do that. Someone once said to me that you never “get over” these things but that with time you can learn to live “alongside them”. We are all affected by things that happen to us, and difficult things can sometimes have a long lasting effect. But I really think that it’s important to talk things through with those around you

David_Tricky: It makes sense that hearing about the people who have died will remind you of your Nan, which will make you feel sad. Someone once said to me that “grief” (which is the feelings you get when someone you care about dies) is the price we pay for love. You should talk to people that you know and trust, or you could even go to a website called rd4u or winstons wish where lots of other young people who have lost someone they loved share their thoughts. Take care

Lizo: Hi Mona, What the police are saying is that it’s far too early to say who carried out the bombing and why. So it’s impossible to say if it was anything to do with Britain’s involvement in the war. And the police say they’re working hard to try and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

David_Tricky: Their experience will always be a part of their “story”. It’s a sad and a scary part, but by talking about it to other people it can eventually become a chapter of their story - but not the whole book. How are you doing?

David_Tricky: You’re absolutely right - and thank you for saying it. When we look at groups of people who have been through things, it’s the ones who have friends and family around them to talk to that are less badly affected

David_Tricky: Hi Charlotte Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings. It makes complete sense that you are feeling scared just now. What happened was very scary and I think lots of people were a bit scared about getting on the tube today. But over time, I think you’ll find that you’ll realise that things are pretty safe really. The world is no more dangerous today than it was at the beginning of the week, but it might take some time to realise that. If you can’t sleep you should try talking to someone about your fears. Take care.

David_Tricky: Hello - if you’ve conquered your fears once, then in some ways you’re at an advantage because you will have some ideas of what will help you to do it again. You might want to concentrate on the fact that this is really really rare, that being able to get out and about it a really good thing to be able to do, or you might want to concentrate on something relaxing and lovely whilst you are on the bus. I always imagine lying out on my sofa with some really lovely chocolate watching tv. Even now as I’m telling you about it I can feel myself relaxing.

Lizo: Hi luv4eva. The Police say they’re working hard to try and find out exactly who was behind this. The biggest ever London murder inquiry is already underway. And leaders both from this country and others say they’re doing their best to try and make the world as peaceful as possible in the future.

David_Tricky: I think we were all a bit shaken when we first heard the news. It just isn’t something that we are used to. But as we find out more about what actually happened we can begin to understand it a bit more. What usually happens is over the days following something like this you’ll think about it less and begin to think about other things as well. Talk to those people around you about your fears and see what they think about it. There were some very good postings today about people being determined to carry on, and I think it’s a really good idea to carry on doing as many normal things as possible. What

Lizo: Hi … …mimi… … One of the main messages that Tony Blair and other people have been trying to put across is that they don’t believe that people committing terrorism in the name of Islam are true muslims. So hopefully people will understand that whoever carried out the bombings aren’t in anyway representative of anyone other than terrorists.

Lizo: Hi wonder. It’s impossible to predict what will happen in the future. But the Police and the Security Services say they’re working hard to try and make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again.

Lizo: Hi * Maiar IPromiseNever2Let_Go *
The Government and the Police work hard trying to prevent terrorist attacks. As well as all the work the Security Services like MI5 do. And there have been lots of reports over the last few years of planned attacks that they have managed to stop.

Lizo: Hi anarak/skater
Until we know for sure who carried out the attacks, it’s impossible to know why they did it. Terrorist organisations around the world have different reasons for doing what they do, but Governments and Police forces across the globe work extremely hard to try and make sure that they don’t succeed.

David_Tricky: Different people react in different ways. Some people might have bad dreams, or think about it during the day when they don’t want to. Others might find that they are angry or sad or feeling very lonely or scared. Some people might not be able to concentrate or have tummy aches or headaches, and some might want to be nearer the adults. These are really understandable and don’t mean you’re going mad - it’s just your minds way of trying to get your head around it. The good news is that over time, for most people these things will get better. If you can talk about them and be with people then things will be get better quicker, and I really like the way that you all look after each other here on the message board. It’s also really helpful to do as many of the normal things that you would do, and not just stop everything. For a few people, it might take a while to get over it, and if things are bad for a long time then they might need extra help.

Lizo: Thanks for all your messages. And remember we have a special ‘what to do if the news upsets you’ section on our website.

And we’ll also be keeping you up to date with developments on this story over the weekend.

David_Tricky: I hope that’s been helpful. I know it might seem really scary, and it is really sad that people have been killed. But I think it’s great the way that you all share your thoughts and feelings with each other, and although we can’t change what has happened, we can make decisions about what we do. Don’t be afraid to just go with your feelings for a bit, seek out help and support from friends and families, and when you’re ready, I’m really sure that talking about it helps a lot.


Take care


David