Helping Japanese youth bounce back from disaster

University of Queensland experts are working with Japanese schools to help identify and reduce the long-term effects of trauma in children after a disaster. Professor Justin Kenardy and Dr Robyne Le Brocque prompted the initiative when a UQ delegation visited Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which claimed 16,000 lives and caused damage worth an estimated $A270 billion. "Children are particularly vulnerable to traumatic events as they are still developing physically and cognitively," Dr Le Brocque said. Professor Kenardy and Dr Le Brocque had earlier developed Australian child trauma resources, as part of their work at the Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation (CONROD) , a joint research centre of The University of Queensland and Griffith University. The CONROD Child Trauma Program has been adopted as Australia's national response following a disaster. It has been delivered to schools, teachers and child mental health specialists around the nation. Professor Kenardy and Dr Le Brocque presented workshops to academics, psychologists, teachers and other professionals in Japan late last year.