How to help teens deal with tragedy; Expert offers advice after fatal crash involving Holland Hall teens

People connected to Tulsa's Holland Hall are still processing the crash that killed teens and left another badly hurt.

 A social worker from Family and Children Services shares advice about helping teenagers handle this type of grief.

Holland Hall canceled class for the upper school today and encouraged its community to lean on each other.

How can parents help their teens during difficult times?

Lorri Perez, Family and Children Services, said in difficult times it's important teens have someone they can talk to about their feelings.

"For the adults who are going to be hearing about this and trying to comfort the kids they may have questions, so you want to be able to answer those questions or ask them if they have questions," said Perrez. She says it's also okay if teens don't want to talk. 

Perez also recommends Teens taking a break from social media.

What happens when teens hear devastating news?

"Teens feel that they are invincible because that is the way their brains are working right now, so whenever that gets tested that you are talking about something that literally shakes someone's world view,' said Perez. 

Who should teens turn to after a traumatic incident? 

Perez says teens should lean on their friends but should go to an adult they trust first.

"This is a really hard situation to make sense of you can't make sense of it, and you want to give someone the opportunity to help you," said Perez.

Holland Hall is offering counselors and chaplains for students and teachers.

What should parents expect?

She says parents shouldn't expect teens to respond to grief in a certain way because everyone processes trauma differently. 

"You might feel okay one minute and then the next minute you're really sad and crying or you feel really angry because you don't understand why this happened, it's important to really give yourself a break," said Perez.

The latest update 

Tulsa Police say the crash is still under investigation, but speed is believed to be a factor, neither police nor the school have released the identity of the three girls.