Mental Health And Disasters

A reference on mental health and disasters, focused on the full spectrum of psychopathologies associated with many different types of disasters.

The issue of the mental health consequences of disasters is always timely, but, at present, its consideration serves a pressing need if one takes into account the great number of co-existing and super-imposed disasters occurring throughout the world. Taking Greece as an example, on top of the economic disaster that has produced serious mental health problems, the country is faced with a serious refugee problem produced by human-made disasters that have occurred elsewhere and produce serious mental health problems to the refugees and the host population alike. This volume deals with the mental health consequences of Natural Disasters, Human-made Disasters, and a third category, Economic Disasters. This volume will help contribute to more efficient management and mitigation of the mental health effects of such disasters.

In the devastation that follows a major disaster, there is a need for multiple sectors to unite and devote new resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, the provision of health and social services, the restoration of care delivery systems, and other critical recovery needs. In some cases, billions of dollars from public, private and charitable sources are invested to help communities recover. National rhetoric often characterizes these efforts as a "return to normal." But for many American communities, pre-disaster conditions are far from optimal. Large segments of the U.S. population suffer from preventable health problems, experience inequitable access to services, and rely on overburdened health systems. A return to pre-event conditions in such cases may be short-sighted given the high costs - both economic and social - of poor health. Instead, it is important to understand that the disaster recovery process offers a series of unique and valuable opportunities to improve on the status quo. Capitalizing on these opportunities can advance the long-term health, resilience, and sustainability of communities - thereby better preparing them for future challenges. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments. The conceptual framework presented in Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters lays the groundwork to achieve this goal and provides operational guidance for multiple sectors involved in community planning and disaster recovery. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters calls for actions at multiple levels to facilitate recovery strategies that optimize community health. With a shared healthy community vision, strategic planning that prioritizes health, and coordinated implementation, disaster recovery can result in a communities that are healthier, more livable places for current and future generations to grow and thrive - communities that are better prepared for future adversities.

Disaster Mental Health Community Planning is a step-by-step guide to developing mental health disaster plans, assisting communities to act on long-term resilience and recovery. As disasters continue to increase in severity and number, with 16% of survivors identified as potential PTSD victims if they don't promptly receive care, this book is a critical read. Chapters outline how to prepare, develop, and implement a trauma-informed collaborative process that prioritizes lasting emotional wellbeing along with survivors’ short-term needs. The manual demonstrates how to form this partnership through effective communication, assess those individuals at greatest risk of distress, and deliver trauma-specific treatment. Readers will appreciate the book’s practical, user-friendly approach, including case studies, checklists, and follow-up questions to better define goals. Cutting-edge treatment interventions are included along with basic information on trauma's impact on the brain and the types and effects of human-caused and natural disasters to help readers make sound planning decisions. Accessible to mental-health providers, community leaders, organizations, and individuals alike, Disaster Mental Health Community Planning is a Road Map for anyone interested in delivering a trauma-informed mental health supplement to their community's medical disaster preparedness and response plan.

Disaster mental health is a growing field of practice designed to help victims and relief workers learn to effectively cope with the extreme stresses they will face in the aftermath of a disaster. The goal of disaster mental health is to prevent the development of long-term, negative psychological consequences, such as PTSD. This book assists clinicians and traumatologists in "making the bridge" between their clinical knowledge and skills and the unique, complex, chaotic, and highly political field of disaster. It combines information from a vast reservoir of prior research and literature with the authors' practical and pragmatic experience in providing disaster mental health services in a wide variety of disasters.

This title provides a comprehensive overview of clinical, epidemiological, psychobiological, psychosocial and service organization aspects of disaster psychiatry. It takes a practical approach and includes a series of reports on significant experiences made in this field in various regions of the world. An Unbiased and reliable reference point, endorsed by the WPA Includes contributions from internationally acclaimed experts

This book provides a broad international perspective on the psychological trauma faced by children and adolescents exposed to major disasters, and on the local public health response to their needs. An outstanding quality of the book is that it draws upon the experience of local researchers, clinicians, and public mental health practitioners who dedicated themselves to these children in the wake of overwhelming events. The chapters address exemplary responses to a wide variety of trauma types, including severe weather, war, industrial catastrophes, earthquakes, and terrorism. Because disasters do not recognize geographic, economic, or political boundaries, the chapters have been selected to reflect the diverse global community’s attempt to respond to vulnerable children in the most challenging times. The book, thus, examines a diverse range of healthcare systems, cultural settings, mental health infrastructure, government policies, and the economic factors that have played an important role in responses to traumatic events. The ultimate goal of this book is to stimulate future international collaborations and interventions that will promote children’s mental health in the face of disaster.

Focuses on understanding cultural and psychosocial contexts to promote optimal healing for disaster survivors This is the first book for mental health professionals working with survivors of mass trauma to focus on the psychosocial and culture contexts in which these disasters occur. It underscores the importance of understanding these environments in order to provide maximally effective mental health interventions for trauma survivors and their communities. Global in scope, the text addresses the foundations of understanding and responding to the mental health needs of individuals and groups healing from traumas created by a wide range of natural and human-made critical events, including acts of terrorism, armed conflict, genocide, and mass violence by individual perpetrators. Designed for professional training in disaster mental health, and meeting CACREP standards, the text promotes the knowledge and skills needed to work with the psychosocial aspects of individual and group adaptation and adjustment to mass traumatic experience. Reflecting state-of-the-art knowledge, the book offers detailed guidelines in assessment and brief interventions related to survivors’ posttraumatic stress symptoms and complex trauma associated with being at the epicenter of extraordinary stressful and traumatic events. In addition, this book also covers critical issues of self-care for the professional. Illustrated with first-person accounts of disaster survivors and case scenarios, this book emphasizes how counselors and other mental health professionals can foster resilience and wellness in individuals and communities affected by all types of disasters.Key Features: Considers disaster and mass trauma response from a culturally and globally relevant perspective—the first book of its kind Addresses CACREP’s clinical standards and content areas related to disaster mental health response Covers many types of disasters and categories of survivors Includes updated information on PTSD, complex trauma, and self-care Addresses cultivating resiliency in individual and group survivors along with social justice issues