CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- On Friday, the University of Virginia Health System held a briefing appropriately focused on coping with grief following the shooting this past weekend on Grounds.

Dr. Kim Penberthy, a UVA Health psychologist, was invited as a guest to the briefing. She answered questions about how to respond to a traumatic event and how to talk with others about them, specifically children.

"It is important that your children are going to have symptoms. This was a very severe trauma and they will have some difficulties and will most of the time improve with time," she said.

In the meantime, Penberthy says parents of students shouldn't be worried if their children do not want to talk about it.

But they should look out for warning signs like increased drinking, drug use, or changes in behavior. If symptoms like these occur, she says that would be a time to reach out to your primary care doctor.