"34m ago05:18
Jacob Goldberg, who is reporting for the Guardian, has interviewed Dr. Andrea Danese, a child psychiatrist at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, who has discussed the possible psychological consequences of the ordeal on the boys.
After a long time spent underground, the boys will be tired possibly mildly confused - almost as if they were jet-lagged - and likely quite emotional. Bringing them together with a parent will certainly be a positive experience. The mental health professionals could advise the parents on how to support their children int he aftermath of this scary experience.
The parents can help their children in many ways. They can comfort them emotionally by finding the right words to communicate that the threat is over, saying that is OK to feel strong emotions in the aftermath of scary experiences, suggesting ways of coping with those emotions, and importantly to bring back normality by using routines familiar to the boys.
Overall, this is clearly an unusual situation but we can think about the mental health of these boys based on work in traumatised young people more broadly. Many of the boys will have some emotional symptoms - they may be tearful, easily upset, and clingy. These symptoms will resolve within weeks in most of the boys.
A sizeable minority of the boys will develop psychiatric disorders, says Danese, who recommends the boys are carefully assessed and monitored for some time after they are freed.
A sizeable minority of them will develop psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or possible conduct problems and substance abuse. Therefore, the boys should be carefully assessed and monitored after being reunited with their families.
The assessment needs to be broad, considering all types of psychopathology rather than only focus on PTSD, should include a careful assessment of their risk for self-harm, and identify changes in functioning since the incident. Some children may have had pre-exising vulnerability to psychopathology, which should be considered in the assessment.
It is important that the boys who develop psychopathology receive evidence-based treatments personalised to their clinical presentation rather than general counselling advice related to copying with distress or interventions with poor evidence base.
Updated at 5.22am ED"
Thai cave rescue: boys being rescued in four groups – live
he will need a hug too.
