Tyrone Reid, Staff ReporterGUIDANCE COUNSELLORS are warning that the tidal wave of crime and violence sweeping the nation has the potential of creating another generation of killers.
The counsellors told The Gleaner that many children, in an attempt to deal with the trauma associated with crime and violence, develop a defence mechanism, which make them appear numb and unaffected.
"On the surface it would resemble nonchalance, but deep down they are hurting and they don't want to process the emotions," Tamika McCreath, a trained guidance counsellor, told The Gleaner.
GRAVE REPERCUSSIONS
She said this carries grave repercussions.
"It is like receiving a vaccine; you become semi-immune," explained Mrs. McCreath. "For them (children) to always show the emotion towards the trauma would be stressful, so as a coping mechanism they suppress the emotion and just view it as another thing."
She explained further that these children are the ones who are aggressive and get into many fights. This move to internalise their emotions, Mrs. McCreath said, can also lead to them becoming inattentive in class.
If help is not given, these children can evolve into the next generation of 'vipers', she said. "They can end up becoming killers themselves, because it affects their value system and the value for life would decrease because they no longer value life."
Simone Blackwood, a guidance counsellor at Children First, which is a non-governmental organisation that caters for at-risk-children, supported Mrs. McCreath's assessment.
"Those who don't talk become withdrawn and they bottle up their emotions and become hardened," she said. "They are likely to become violent if it is not dealt with immediately."
This condition, which she said is affecting many young people today, is less likely to overtake children who learn to express their emotions in acceptable ways.
"You see that it affects them," said certified guidance counsellor, Yashenne Jamieson. "They are not talking about it, but it comes out in their behaviour."
Ms. Jamieson added, "It is as if they have adapted and got immune to what is happening, while others bring the violence to school as a defence mechanism."
