The Department of Education (DepEd) is undertaking psychological debriefing and other similar activities for learners to cope with various new situations as face-to-face (F2F) classes resumed on Monday, an official here said on Tuesday.

“For two years, our children have not been into their regular social interaction, and staying at home may also have caused trauma or stress for a lot of our learners,” said Dr. Gregorio Cyrus Elejorde, DepEd-Dumaguete division of schools superintendent, in an interview.

“To prepare them for school or a different paradigm and different situations, this is an automatic response of the department to provide them with a psychological debriefing,” he added.

The DepEd official noted that many learners show diminished social skills due to virtual or modular/homeschooling for the past two years with very little exposure to other people.

The psychological debriefing will help the learners discover their feelings and provide relief to the trauma they had undergone during the pandemic, he said.

Teachers have been trained to conduct the psychological debriefing while a group of professional guidance counselors have prepared the materials and are on hand to assist them in future sessions for children needing additional help, Elejorde said.

The teachers also underwent psychological debriefing several times in the past two years to help them cope with the health crisis.

“In the event that some children continue to exhibit trauma, our response would be to expose them to regular counseling but on a case-to-case basis depending on the needs of the child,” Elejorde said. (PNA)