Disaster Mental Health Services: A Primer for Practitioners

by Myers,Diane

• ISBN13: 9781583910634
• ISBN10: 1583910638
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-07
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

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.

Author Biography

David F. Wee is a Disaster Mental Health Consultant and Trainer, and is the Disaster Coordinator and Program Supervisor to the City of Berkeley, Department of Health and Human Services, Mental Health Division. He is an Adjunct Faculty Member of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, California Specialized Training Institute.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Introduction	xiii
I Disaster Concepts and Roles
Disasters and Their Impact
Definition of Disaster	3	(3)
Frequency of Disasters	6	(1)
Types of Disasters	7	(4)
Factors Affecting the Mental Health Impacts of Disaster	11	(6)
Phases of Disaster	17	(7)
Key Concepts of Disaster Mental Health	24	(9)
Summary	33	(10)
Special Populations in Disaster
Age Groups	43	(15)
Gender	58	(1)
Cultural Groups: Issues and Considerations	59	(3)
Socioeconomic Groups	62	(2)
People with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness	64	(1)
When to Make Referrals	65	(2)
Summary	67	(6)
II Services, Programs, and Workers
Code-C: A Model for Disaster Mental Health Service Delivery
Introduction	73	(2)
Disaster Mental Health Services	75	(19)
Program Evaluation and Research	94	(1)
Conclusion	94	(4)
Stress Management and Prevention of Compassion Fatigue for Psychotraumatologists
Introduction	98	(3)
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Bombing	101	(7)
Evaluation of Stress Among Oklahoma City Crisis Workers	108	(4)
Aftermath Stress Management	112	(3)
The Nature of Traumas	115	(1)
Predisaster	115	(7)
Strategies Against Compassion Fatigue During Disaster	122	(8)
Postdisaster	130	(5)
Summary	135	(8)
Critical Incident Stress Management in Large-Scale Disasters
Introduction	143	(5)
Critical Incident Stress Management	148	(6)
Preplanning for Crisis Intervention and Stress Management Services in Disaster	154	(2)
Critical Incident Stress Management Interventions	156	(28)
Special Needs of Disaster Responders During Impact and Response Phases	184	(4)
Effectiveness of CISD and CISM: Research Issues and Findings	188	(12)
Conclusion	200	(11)
Support Groups in Disaster Mental Health Programs
Introduction	211	(2)
The Value of Support Groups	213	(1)
Support Group Key Concepts and Curative Factors	213	(5)
Types of Support Groups	218	(3)
Developing Support Groups	221	(1)
Evaluating the Need for Support Groups	221	(1)
Designing Support Groups	222	(1)
Group Format	222	(2)
Facilitating Support Groups	224	(1)
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for Support Groups	225	(1)
The Mature Support Group	226	(1)
Desirable Patterns of Interaction	227	(1)
Group Problems	227	(1)
Termination	227	(1)
Future Services	228	(1)
Case Example	229	(11)
III New Issues and Challenges
Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism: Mental Health Issues and Interventions
Terrorism Event Characteristics	240	(8)
Psychological Reactions to be Anticipated	248	(1)
Unique Challenges to Mental Health Professionals in Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorist Events	249	(3)
Psychological Impact: Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing	252	(3)
Impact of the September, 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks	255	(4)
Code-C: A Model for Mental Health Response to Terrorism	259	(4)
National Recommendations for Early Psychological Intervention for Victims and Survivors of Mass Violence	263	(3)
Summary	266	(5)
Index	271