The document outlines the emergency procedures and primary care strategies for mental health professionals responding to natural disasters. It identifies common risk factors for traumatic reactions, discusses psychological interventions such as crisis intervention and cognitive therapy, and details key steps for early interventions. The aim is to provide immediate support and prevent long-term psychological issues for affected individuals.
The document outlines the emergency procedures and primary care strategies for mental health professionals responding to natural disasters. It identifies common risk factors for traumatic reactions, discusses psychological interventions such as crisis intervention and cognitive therapy, and details key steps for early interventions. The aim is to provide immediate support and prevent long-term psychological issues for affected individuals.
The document outlines the emergency procedures and primary care strategies for mental health professionals responding to natural disasters. It identifies common risk factors for traumatic reactions, discusses psychological interventions such as crisis intervention and cognitive therapy, and details key steps for early interventions. The aim is to provide immediate support and prevent long-term psychological issues for affected individuals.
The document outlines the emergency procedures and primary care strategies for mental health professionals responding to natural disasters. It identifies common risk factors for traumatic reactions, discusses psychological interventions such as crisis intervention and cognitive therapy, and details key steps for early interventions. The aim is to provide immediate support and prevent long-term psychological issues for affected individuals.
Emergency Procedure and Primary Care in Physical Therapy Assignment no.1
Imagine you are a mental health professional working in a community
counseling center. A natural disaster has struck your area, causing widespread devastation. Many individuals in your community have been exposed to traumatic events, and you are tasked with providing support and intervention. In this context;
a-What are some of the common risk factors that make individuals more vulnerable to developing traumatic reactions following a natural disaster?
b-What psychological interventions or techniques would you use to assist
individuals who are experiencing acute distress or emotional trauma immediately after the disaster?
c. What are the key steps you would take when conducting early interventions for those affected by the disaster?
A-What are some of the common risk factors that make
individuals more vulnerable to developing traumatic reactions following a natural disaster?
Risk Factors Associated with Traumatic Reactions;
>Mild Risk Factors: ■ Lack of education. ■ Family history of psychiatric problems. ■ General childhood adversity.
>Moderate Risk Factors:
■ Positive psychiatric history in victim/ witness. ■ Poor psychological functioning in victim/witness prior to event. ■ Reported child abuse. ■ Severe trauma. ■ Perceived life threat during event. ■ Extreme emotion during/after trauma.
>Significant Risk Factors:
■ Lack of social support. ■ Extreme dissociation during/after trauma. ■ Subsequent life stress.
When researchers have looked to predict long-term traumatic reactions (i.e.,
PTSD) based on individual characteristics and risk factors, factors such as lack of education, previous trauma, and general childhood adversity were found to influence diagnosis to some extent. However, other factors such as psychological difficulties prior to exposure, reported childhood abuse, and family psychiatric history were found to have slightly more influence over the development of PTSD symptoms. The most influential characteristics regarding PTSD were factors that were operating during or after the trauma itself because researchers have noted that trauma severity, lack of social support following the event, and more subsequent life stress carried the strongest risk of PTSD for survivors of trauma experiences. More specifically, people who felt their life was in danger, especially during non-combat trauma, were significantly more likely to develop emotional problems following these events as were people who experienced dissociative symptoms or intense negative emotions during and/or immediately after the event. Thus, for athletes and teams who endure physically or emotionally traumatic events outside the normal range of athletics, the presence of one or more of these characteristics might predict the development of emotional problems as a result of their experience.
B-What psychological interventions or techniques would you
use to assist individuals who are experiencing acute distress or emotional trauma immediately after the disaster?
As people have become more aware of the emotional consequences of crisis
situations, interest in potential intervention strategies has grown. Although some strategies have garnered more empirical support and others have generated controversy, the unifying goals of these intervention techniques are to reduce immediate distress for survivors while attempting to prevent the development of long-term psychological problems.Crisis intervention, psycho-education, psychological debriefings, and short-term cognitive therapy have all been used in various forms (and with varying success) following extreme events.
>Psychological Interventions in Crisis Situations:
1]Crisis Intervention:- ■ Assess an individual’s personal and interpersonal resources. ■ Establish a supportive relationship. ■ Develop an understanding of the client’s primary and secondary needs. ■ Coordinate referrals to specialized treatment providers and/or assistance organizations. ■ Monitor the client’s progress and follow-through on an outlined recovery plan.
2]Educational interventions:- Educational methods including brochures, media portrayals, and public seminars that can be used both before and after traumatic events to reduce the confusion and perceived helplessness that often accompany critical incidents and crisis situations. Educational interventions have been used in a variety of trauma situations and have been found to have both a direct and an indirect impact on recovery. These strategies often include general messages about expected response patterns, but they can also be used as a means to provide contact information to survivors for support services. Using recognizable spokespeople, tailoring information and presentation forms for specific target audiences, and delivering messages through formal institutional avenues helps make this intervention strategy more effective.
3] Psychological debriefing interventions:-
Psychological debriefing began as an intervention when critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) was introduced in the early 1980s. Evolved from work with firefighters, CISD was developed with two basic intentions: to alleviate the distress that emergency personnel experience following grave situations in the line of duty and to help expedite the recovery from “normal” distress in people who endure abnormal and/or extreme situations.21 The CISD process began as a formal, group-based intervention strategy for members of high-risk occupational groups such as emergency medical services workers, law enforcement officers, or disaster response personnel, but it quickly gained acceptance into occupational settings where industrial accidents are common or where life and death situations can occur.
4]Cognitive therapy interventions:-
Components of CognitiveBehavioral Therapy; ■ Cognitive restructuring. ■ Education about reactions to trauma. ■ Breathing and relaxation training. ■ Imagined exposure to the memory of traumatic events. ■ Confrontation of feared, but safe, situations.
C-What are the key steps you would take when conducting early interventions for those affected by the disaster?
>Fundamental Steps in Conducting Early Interventions Following;
Step 1: Address Basic Needs Objectives: ■ Provide necessary medical care. ■ Coordinate treatment modalities. ■ Assure successful achievement of activities of daily living.
Step 2: Anticipate Recovery, Screen for Ineffective Coping Objectives:
■ Recognize that “normal”distress is common. ■ Identify individuals with signs of potential difficulty recovering. ■ Monitor changes of identified individuals throughout the recovery process. Step 3: Implement Early-Intervention Protocols Objectives: ■ Coordinate treatment interventions with other professionals. ■ Implement individual and/or group-based interventions. ■ Recognize the different needs of direct victims, witnesses, and significant others. ■ Time intervention strategies in line with expected critical periods for post-trauma reactions.
Step 4: Termination, Referrals, and Follow-Up Objectives:
■ Foster independence in victims and survivors. ■ Facilitate long-term care and monitor treatment progress for individuals in need. ■ Address potential anniversary reactions through timing of follow-up meetings.
