Post-traumatic stress disorder in victims of disasters

Abstract

Disasters can produce significant, lasting psychological sequelae. Much of the disaster work that mental health professionals can do falls outside of the more traditional roles usually taken by mental health professionals. These roles include reaching out to survivors through a variety of modes and rarely waiting for them to seek traditional forms of help. Much of what can be done does not require labeling individuals as disordered but may be done within the overall response of the community to the survivors on a variety of levels. To be most effective, we need to be involved in planning efforts that can be activated when disaster strikes, rather than being reactive to the situation after it has occurred. The potential range of responses can challenge the professional who wants to help his or her community when it has been affected.