Counselors discuss grieving process

As funerals and memorial services continue for the 26 victims of the shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, grief counselors and psychologists offer insight to the healing process for the parents whose children were killed.

Grief counselor Wendy Davenson.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) WENDY DAVENSON, GRIEF COUNSELOR, SAYING:

"It's going to be difficult for parents to walk around town because people will see them. They are not going to know what to say to them. They are going to begin to not want to go into the big wide because they are going to be afraid that somebody is going to see them and somebody sees them, they might cry. My answer to that is cry."

20 children between the ages of 6 and 7 were killed last Friday when a gunman entered a school in Newton Connecticut and began shooting. Six adults were also killed.

Several mass killings over the years have prompted psychologist to delve into the personality profile of the killers. In 1999 13 people were killed when two students opened fire inside a high school in Littleton Colorado. And 32 people were killed in 2007 when a student began shooting people at Virginia Tech university.

Social workers say there are some similarities in the profiles of mass shooters.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL MCCANN, MCCANN PROTECTIVE SERVICES, SAYING:

"Generally, it's someone who is a loner. They don't take criticism well. They blame things on other people. They may have a history of overreacting in situations that most people wouldn't overreact to. There maybe alcohol. There maybe taking days off. They may have a military record and they own guns."

Friends of Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Connecticut incident, say they remember him as shy and intelligent, without many friends.