Psychiatrists provide valuable medical experience and expertise for preparing and responding to disasters and mass traumas. It is important to understand how psychiatric care can be integrated into disaster response systems in order to effectively provide medical assessment, treatment and consultation.
Education and Training
The APA Learning Center provides courses covering the broad aspects of Readiness, Evaluation, and Intervention in disaster psychiatry for disaster responders.
- Readiness
Readiness
A basic understanding of the various components of disaster response protects both the clinician responder and victims of disaster and mass traumas.
- Preparation and System Issues: role differentiation and understanding the response system
- Risk Communication: disseminating information and communicating care
- Self-Care: developing a self-care plan, self-awareness, and managing stress
- Needs Assessment: community evaluations and assessment guidelines
- Legal and Ethical: confidentiality, licensure, and liability issues
Liability and Ethical Considerations in Emergencies and Disasters
- Presenter: Moira Wertheimer, RN, JD, CPHRM, Assistant Vice President, Psychiatry Risk Management Group, AWAC Services Company, Inc.
- Launch Course
- Evaluation
Evaluation
Assessment of a community takes into consideration the mental health of affected individuals and vulnerable populations.
- Psychiatric Evaluation: relevant factors and psychological consequences of disaster
- Special Populations: ethno-cultural issues and needs based on age, gender, and physical disability
- Serious Mental Illness (SMI): the effects of disaster and post disaster issues on SMI
- Substance Abuse: screening and assessment of substance abuse after disasters
- Personality Issues: assessing and managing personality issues in disaster settings
- Injuries and Triage of Medical Complaints: diagnosing the mind-body connection
- Grief and Resilience: post disaster course of onset, biopsychosocial factors, and cultural issues
Vicarious Trauma in Catastrophic Events: From the Perspective of Mental Health Providers at Various Phases of a Disaster
- Presenter: Gertie Quitangon, M.D., New York University
- Launch Course
- Intervention
Intervention
Evidence-based approaches and treatment strategies can differ among groups and incorporate aspects of psychosocial support and crisis management.
- Psychological First Aid (PFA): understanding core elements and goals of PFA
- Group and Family: peer-led support groups and professional-led therapeutic groups
- Psychotherapies: short-term, long-term, alternative, and cultural-specific therapies
- Psychopharmacology: goals and considerations in acute and postacute phase interventions
- Child and Adolescent: pre-disaster, acute, and post-acute interventions including pediatric care
- Geriatric: risk factors and intervention strategies
Disaster Psychiatry: Readiness, Evaluation, and Treatment
From the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
Psychological First Aid Online: This interactive course from the NCTSN, a national collaborative network of academic institutes and governmental and nongovernmental organizations, puts the participant in the role of a provider in a post-disaster scene.
Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide (2nd Edition): This guide provides an evidence-informed approach for assisting children, adolescents, adults, and families in the aftermath of disaster and terrorism.
Related Publications
Disaster Psychiatry: Readiness, Evaluation, and Treatment: A joint initiative of APA, Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, and Disaster Psychiatry Outreach to provide evidence-based recommendations for psychiatric evaluation and treatment.
Focus Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Workbook: A collection of practical and evidence-based materials to help psychiatrists evaluate and advance their assessment, communication, diagnostic, and treatment skills for posttraumatic stress disorder.