|
|
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
|
|
November
2008
Volume
15
- Number 2 |
|
Need for Comprehensive
Assistance
in Post-Disaster Psychological Recovery By Hanmin Kim
The
Korean movie Gaeulro
(a.k.a. Traces of Love) features a survivor of the Sampung Collapse who
has a hard
time leading a normal life after the incident. The Sampung Collapse,
one of the
worst disasters in Korean history, took place in 1995 when a nine story
department store (including 4 underground floors) collapsed completely,
causing
over 500
deaths and nearly
a thousand injuries. Of all survivors, three were trapped in the debris
until rescued
9 to 15 days after the collapse. In the movie, 10 years has passed
since the
catastrophic event, but Se-jin, the last survivor, still suffers from
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and claustrophobia. Because of the
difficulties
of her condition she cannot even hold a job. Se-jin’s
situation may seem like an extreme case, but I
believe all disaster victims and survivors face a similar fate, albeit
to
different degrees. They all demonstrate symptoms of PTSD, depression,
anxiety,
behavior problems, or substance abuse. For example, research conducted
after
the To
address this issue, FEMA offers the Crisis Counseling
Training and Assistance Program (CCP) which provides “short-term
interventions
with individuals and groups experiencing psychological sequelae to
large-scale
disasters” and the Sesame Workshop (www.sesameworkshop.org)
which was originally developed to help children cope with the mental
health
issues after the 9/11 attack, but also hoping to aid those suffering
from other
traumatic events. However, these measures are limited in duration and
scope. Life
stress triggered by the physical, emotional and/or economic loss due to
the
disaster is long-lasting, if not permanent. Also, it can be further
exacerbated
over time as the disaster survivors become frustrated with the slow
progress or
they feel isolated as the media attention dwindles and government
assistance
withdraws. Short-term intervention is certainly inadequate to
effectively
handle these effects that emerge further down the road and even worse,
premature
termination of intervention can adversely affect psychological recovery
by
leaving the survivors feeling betrayed and more vulnerable. In terms of
the
scope of the post-disaster mental health treatment, both CCP and Sesame
Workshop are individual-oriented. Group Crisis Counseling Services of
CCP
involves group counseling, but the group here means the sum of
individuals, not
a coherent functioning unit such as the family. In cases of mass
disasters such
as Hurricane Katrina, disaster is experienced not on an individual
level, but as
a family. Life stress resulting from this life altering and disruptive
force
causes the family tension and conflict which can be more detrimental
for the
psychological recovery than the disastrous event itself. Progress in
individual-oriented
treatment would be greatly hampered by the negative interaction at home
and
there exists high risk of relapse as well. To
rebuild a healthy community in which a healthy future
generation is fostered, post-disaster psychological recovery is
essential. I
would like to make three suggestions to improve existing programs.
First, CCP
should be extended to encompass long-term intervention or a new program
may be
developed to deal with longer-term mental health issues. Second, both
CCP and
Sesame Workshop must be aware of the importance of family interaction
in the
psychological recovery and engage the family as a participating unit in
the
treatment. Third, more effort must be made as part of the emergency
preparedness and mitigation strategy to increase the public awareness
on the
possible PTSD and accompanying symptoms after major disasters. The
suffering of
the victims of disasters will be significantly reduced once the public
is better
informed of the potential emotional turmoil they would face in the
aftermath of
disasters and the resources available to them for relief and recovery. <Reference> Rowe,
C. L., & Liddle, H. A.
(2008). When the levee breaks: Treating adolescents and families in the
aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Journal of Marital and Family
Therapy, 34(2),
132. Additional
Assistance http://www.fema.gov/assistance/process/additional.shtm Crisis
Counseling Available For
Floridians Affected By Wilma http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=20744 Additional
FEMA Grant for
Children's Mental Health Sesame Workshop to Create Program for Parents,
Caregivers and Teachers to Help Children http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=3114 An
Overview of the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program www.fema.gov/pdf/media/2006/ccp_over.pdf Crisis
Counseling and Mental Health Treatment-Similarities and Differences www.fema.gov/pdf/media/2006/ccp_mh.pdf |