Certified Child Life Specialist: Jessica Johnson’s Story

Photo taken in 1989 at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya.

By Jessica Johnson
Child Life Specialist
Cooper University Health Care

I had the unique opportunity to live in Kenya, East Africa, as a child when my parents taught at an international boarding school for missionary children. During this time, I interacted with children and adults from all over the world. This childhood experience caused me to highly value cross-cultural relationships and the opportunities that exist to learn and share with one another.

Currently, I enjoy working with a diverse patient population in my role as a certified child life specialist (CCLS) at Cooper University Hospital. I focus my efforts on helping children cope with challenging circumstances through developmentally appropriate preparation, education, and therapeutic interventions. It is incredibly rewarding to support children and families through trauma, illness, or a new diagnosis. Although the field of Child Life is continuing to grow, there are many areas both at home and abroad where Child Life services are still needed. I was very excited when I learned about the Child Life Disaster Relief (CLDR) organization whose vision is “to develop a coordinated and global network to ensure that children in disasters and crises have the tools and support needed to promote positive coping and resilience.” I became a member of CLDR and then chose to attend a training in New York City with CLDR’s partner, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS), in order to become a certified CDS volunteer and learn how to best support children affected by man-made and natural disasters.

In October 2019, I deployed with CLDR to the Bahamas. The Bahamas Ministry of Health and a U.S. Coalition of Physicians initiated a request for psychosocial care for children affected by Hurricane Dorian. During the week I volunteered I had the opportunity to work with displaced children in a large shelter in Nassau. Many of these children had lost their schools, homes, and even friends and family members due to the hurricane and its aftermath. Many of the children displayed hoarding tendencies, aggressive behavior, and a need for physical touch, which are common responses to trauma. My teammates and I sought to normalize the physical and emotional responses the children were experiencing through expressive art activities, physical play, and developmentally appropriate trauma-themed story books. Most of the children were quick to engage in play and were open to sharing their stories. One boy shared that he watched his brother and sister get swept away in the flood waters and was helpless to save them. Providing opportunities for the children to share and process their traumatic experiences was incredibly important to their healing journey.

In February 2020, I deployed again with CLDR to Puerto Rico to support children affected by the recent earthquakes. CLDR partnered with an amazing physician who is volunteering her time in the school system to provide basic medical training and disaster preparedness to teachers in order to prepare for potential future disasters. She requested the support of child life specialists to work with the students on positive coping techniques and to aid in processing the emotional response that was ongoing among the students. My teammates and I worked with the students on various focused breathing techniques, mindfulness activities, and grounding exercises that they could utilize to calm their minds and bodies in times of stress. We also provided opportunities for self-expression through therapeutic art activities which benefited students of all ages. Another intervention method was asking students to write a letter to the earthquake sharing how it has affected them. When they were finished they were able to rip up the letter and throw it away to release feelings of grief, anger, and frustration.

It has been a privilege to be part of the work CLDR is doing in various areas affected by disaster. These deployments have pushed me out of my comfort zone and have led to my professional growth. It has also provided a fresh perspective that positively impacts my work at Cooper.

If you are interested in learning more about CLDR’s mission, or to donate to their continued work supporting children affected by disaster, please visit cldisasterrelief.org.

“Dear [Earthquakes], Can y’all leave us alone? Like bro we are tryna live. I swear these days have been the worst days of my life.” Photo taken at Elpidio H. Rivera School in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in February, 2020. Children expressed a range of emotions regarding the recent earthquakes such as anger, fear, frustration, and sadness through letters written to the earthquake.

Jessica Johnson recieves hugs from children in Kendall G.L Isaacs National Gymnasium shelter.

Taken at the Kendal G.L Isaacs National Gymnasium in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas in October, 2019. The children ran to meet us when we arrived and displayed a need for physical touch and attention, which may be due to their desire to feel safe and secure after the traumatic experiences they had recently endured, as well as the under stimulating environment of the shelter.

Jessica Johnson leads children in focused breathing exercise

Photo taken at San Sebastian Bilingual School in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, in February, 2020. I was teaching the children a focused breathing exercise called “5 Finger Breathing.” They practiced breathing in through their nose and out through their mouth as they traced up and down their fingers with the other hand to help calm their minds and bodies in times of stress.

Child drawing

Taken at the Kendal G.L Isaacs National Gymnasium in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas in October, 2019. This little boy is drawing a picture of Hurricane Dorian. He said, “it was hungry. It broke my house.”

Current photo of Jessica Johnson with her daughter at Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper.