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Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT November 15, 2002 "Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin
Short Subjects
LINKS Mental Health Moment Online CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
Basic and Advanced Critical Incident Stress Management Workshops
November 22-23, 2002
Holiday Inn
Casper, WY
Co-sponsored by:
Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health InstituteAnd Snowy Range A.S.I.S.T. CISM Team14 CEUs each
"Religious Aspects of Domestic Violence" November 24, 2002
Holiday Inn
Casper, WY
co-sponsored by:
Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health InstituteAnd The Governor's Domestic Violence Elimination (DoVE) Council4 CEUs
The Australasian Critical Incident
Stress Association Conference
The Right Response in the
21st Century
Location: Carlton Crest Hotel
Melbourne Australia
Friday October 3, 2003 thru
Sunday October 5, 2003
For further information
please contact the conference organisers
ammp@optushome.com.au Conference Website:
http://www.acisa.org.au/ conference2003/2002 BERLIN CONFERENCE ON
THE HUMAN DIMENSIONS
OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
December 6 - 7, 2002
Location: Berlin, GERMANY
Contact: Frank Biermann, Chair
DVPW Environmental Policy and
Global Change Section
biermann@pik-potsdam.de or
Sabine Campe, Manager
2002 Berlin Conference
sabine.campe@pik-potsdam.de
VIII European Conference
on
Traumatic Stress (ECOTS)
May 22 - 25 2003
Location: Berlin
GERMANY
Contact:
Scientific Secretariat
VIII ECOTS Berlin 2003
c/o Catholic University of
Applied Social Sciences
Koepenicker Allee 39-57
D-10318 Berlin
Tel: +49-30-50 10 10 54
Fax: +49-30-50 10 10 88
E-mail:
trauma-conference@kfb-berlin.de
Deadlines:
Abstract Submission
30 November 200227th Congress of the
World Federation for
Mental Health
February 21-26, 2003
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Contact: ICMS Pty Ltd
(Congress Secretariat)
84 Queensbridge Street
Southbank VIC 3006, Australia
Tel: 61 3 9682 0244
Fax: 61 3 9682 0288
E-mail: wfmh2003@icms.com.au
Annual Conference Society for
Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
April 12 - 14, 2003
Location: Orlando, Florida
USA
Contact: lhakel@siop.bgsu.edu
MAP DATA GOES LIVE WITH VOICE, GESTURE-BASED COMPUTER SYSTEM
Emergency management teams, faced with an approaching hurricane, can access geographic information systems (GIS) map data through voice and gestures for real-time decision making on issues ranging from protecting hazardous materials sites to evacuating assisted-living facilities by using a computer system developed by Penn State researchers. The system also can assist planners and transportation engineers visualize the impacts of potential developments and highways, as well as help crisis management personnel respond more quickly to other disasters. The Dialogue-Assisted Visual Environment for Geoinformation (DAVE_G) debuted last Friday at the Association for Computing Machinery's 10th International Symposium on Advancements in GIS. The project is part of a three-year National Science Foundation-funded research effort by faculty in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, College of Engineering and School of Information Sciences and Technology. For the full story by Margaret Hopkins, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2002/mapdata.html
President Declares Major Disaster For Alaska
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that federal disaster aid has been made available for Alaska to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas struck by the earthquake beginning November 3, 2002. For more information, go to: http://www.fema.gov/diz02/hq02_212.shtm
70 Tornados Hit Midwest and South
Portions of the Midwest and South are assessing the damages left over from more than 70 tornadoes that touched down this past weekend. The death toll stands at 35 and is expected to rise as hundreds are still reported missing throughout five states. Mossy Grove, Tennessee was among the hardest hit areas as 12 people were killed and the rural town was destroyed by a mile wide tornado. For more information, go to: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/12/1036308673729.html
President Declares Major Disaster For Tennessee Tornado Victims
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that President Bush has declared a major disaster for Tennessee, opening the way for the use of federal disaster funds to help meet the recovery needs of families and businesses devastated by last weekend's swarm of deadly tornadoes. For more information, go to: http://www.fema.gov/diz02/hq02_215.shtm
Adolescent Depression Common, but Reporting to Physicians Unlikely
Although over one-third of adolescents report an episode of depression, less than 20% seek help for it, according to Dr. Stephanie A. Riolo, speaking here at the 49th annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. For the full article, go to: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/443637
Amphetamines in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
This is the second in a series of articles in Pediatric Pharmacotherapy focusing on new pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Pediatr Pharm 8(3) 2002 For the full article, go to: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/441909_1
THE MEDICAL MINUTE: HOME HEALTH CARE COMING OF AGE
Census figures show that 9.2 million, or 31 percent, of people over age 65 live alone. By 2020, it is estimated that that number will grow to 15.2 million. Three quarters of older Americans who live alone are women. Almost half are just above the poverty line. Being alone increases the risk of poor nutrition and nursing home admission. Many trends are combining with the effect that the aging population will come to rely on home health care agencies more than prior generations. The National Association of Home Care estimates 8 million Americans currently receive acute or long term care in the home. As with many aspects of life, advance planning can reduce the stress. It's usually easier to make decisions when there's no crisis. It's not fun to plan for being less independent, but it beats being unprepared for the day when home care is needed. Information is available from most Area Agencies on Aging and through Pennsylvania's Department of Aging. Full article is at: http://www.psu.edu/ur/2002/medicalminute012.html For the full series of Medical Minutes, a service of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2002/medicalminuteindex.html
NEWS ARTICLES ONLINE 181 on Caribbean cruise ship contract stomach virus http://www.boston.com/dailynews/315/nation/181_on_ Caribbean_cruise_ship_c:.shtml
FLORIDA - Plane Carrying Cubans Forced to Land in Florida http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=% 5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200211%5CFOR20021111j.html
DC - Officials Question FBI Terror Readiness http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40996-2002Nov11.html
USA - BRACING FOR BIOTERROR http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec02/bioterror_11-11.html
International BELGIUM - NATO on Alert for Possible Al Quaeda Attack http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-nato- terrorism1111nov11,0,4911959.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dworld%2Dheadlines
FRANCE - 'Dirty bomb' fears spur a search for Soviet relics - deadly cesium still missing http://www.iht.com/articles/76657.htm See also: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/11/1036308631294.html
MALAYSIA - 393 potential terrorist targets in Malaysia identified http://www.irna.com/en/head/021112104527.ehe.shtml
AUSTRALIA - State Department warns against travel to Kenya, Ecuador - terrorism risk http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s725071.htm
AFRICA - Terrorist-Hunting Troops Head to Africa http://allafrica.com/stories/200211110210.html
TERRORISM AND THE STATE
There are some significant difficulties associated with defining the term "terrorism" (Akhtar, 1999). However, once an operational definition is arrived at, the psychodynamic characteristics of terrorist leaders and their followers can be delineated, using concepts from both individual and group psychology. This allows the clinical realm and some parallels between the terrorist violence against peace-seeking forces and certain patients' destructive attacks on the therapeutic process to be explored, including the dynamics of overcoming hate and achieving the psychic stance of forgiveness.
Ethnic And Religious Terrorism
The psychosocial aspects of terrorism were explored by Hoffman (1999). He looked at ideological and operational imperatives, future orientation, and resiliency within terrorist groups. He also emphasized the unswerving belief held by all terrorists in the efficacy of violence.
Many terrorist acts seem to be perpetrated for ethnic and/or religious reasons as their rationale or justification. Ethnic terrorism differs considerably from violence carried out for ideological, religious, or financial motives. Ethnic terrorists often seek to influence their own constituencies more than the country as a whole (Byman, 1998). They frequently seek to foster communal identity in contrast to an identity proposed by the state. They often target potential intermediaries, who might otherwise compromise on identity issues. A secondary goal of the attacks is to create a climate of fear among a rival group's population. Ethnic terrorism creates a difficult problem for the state. Conventional countermeasures may engender broader support for an insurgency or a separatist movement even when they hamstring or defeat a specific terrorist group. Because state strategies often backfire, an ideal strategy is to compel "in group" policing, encouraging ethnic moderates through carrots as well as sticks to punish radical activity, a strategy that apparently has not been too successful in the Middle East in recent years.
Drawing from work with South African apartheid-era victims and perpetrators, Simpson (1998) explored the continuing effects of unresolved conflicts on individuals, families, communities, and nations. He discussed the following topics: social responses to conflict and war; cultural aspects of responses to trauma in an African setting; the changing nature of war trauma and its impact as exemplified in South Africa; the role of children in the South African struggle for freedom; children as aggressors; the infantilizing of Black adults; the effects of child trauma on parents; the effect of parental trauma on children; multigenerational trauma and the genesis of terrorism; political correctness, denying apartheid, and requiring amnesia; continuing effects of social trauma: contrasting European and African experience; the nature of apartheid and its traumatic impact; parallels with Anglo-Boer War in South Africa; the possible relationship between experiencing trauma and causing it; and the plight of the survivor in the "new" South Africa. An in-depth exploration and research of these and other related variables can provide an approach to the study of and possible roots of ethnic terrorism. Such insights could hopefully provide constructive approaches to negotiation, prevention and mitigation.
Peleg (1997) examined conditions and circumstances that enabled the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He noted that these conditions present a counterculture of Messianism at the core of religious Zionism, which has matured into a formidable force waiting to erupt. Drawing on insights from studies of political violence in general and religiously motivated violence in particular, he concluded that a violence tendency tandem fosters and encourages religious violence in Israel, from the vigilante activities of the settlers' Gush Emunim to the assassination of Rabin.
Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons
The mental health consequences of a domestic terrorist incident involving chemical or biological weapons were highlighted by DiGiovanni (1999). He reviewed the literature on the neuropsychiatric effects of selected chemical and biological weapon agents, on the psychological sequelae of mass disasters, and on approaches to crisis intervention. Disturbances of behavior, affect, and cognition can result directly from the pharmacological actions of some chemical and biological weapon agents. In addition, an incident involving these agents can have considerable psychological effects on individuals and the community. In either case, some disorders are acute and others are prolonged or delayed in onset. Effective therapeutic intervention involves a broad range of clinical, social, and administrative actions. DiGiovanni concluded that psychiatrists have an important role in the management of a chemical or biological terrorist incident and, along with their other medical colleagues, should train and prepare for it.
Simon (1999) identified groups that have both the potential and the motive to use weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, he discussed the design and implementation of effective measures to meet this threat, as well as the role of critical incident stress management teams in preparation for, and in the aftermath of, an incident involving nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. The potential for acquisition of such weapons by religious and/or ethnic terrorist groups is a very real concern, especially since the Gulf War when such weapons were employed by Sadam Hussein. These concerns have been punctuated by the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Responses
Wilson (2000) examined behavior in terrorist hostage taking using published accounts of 100 incidents of aerial hijack and 60 incidents of barricade siege occurring worldwide over the past 3 decades. The use of multidimensional scalogram analysis demonstrates that behavior in terrorist hostage taking is highly structured. Behavioral similarities between incidents carried out by the same terrorist organization are demonstrated, and the structures underlying the use of resources in barricade siege and the demands issued in aerial hijacking are presented. She discusses implications for theory development and training and decision making in hostage negotiation.
Sprang (1999) conducted a study of 472 community members to determine the nature and course of the post-disaster response to the April 19, 1995, bombing in Oklahoma City. She hypothesized that an individual's post-disaster reaction would resemble a linear function of the degree of exposure experienced, and that this dose-response relationship could be used to differentiate the expression of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and victimization symptomatology within three study groups, two from Oklahoma City and one from Lexington, Kentucky. The respondents were divided into three groups based on their level of exposure and proximity to the event. The findings partially support the stated hypotheses. As expected, the Oklahoma City groups reported higher levels of post-disaster disturbance than the comparison sample, although only PTSD and victimization could be used to differentiate among the three groups.
Applewhite and Goldstein (1997) present the findings of a mental health team that intervened with a unit after a terrorist car-bombing which happened in front of the main office building housing the Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program. Contact with 52 of the individuals wounded in the attack revealed a distinct pattern of psychosocial disturbance. Ten Ss reported sleep disturbances, nine Ss indicated experiencing concern for their families' safety or for their own personal safety, and seven Ss had become hypervigilant or cautious in their daily activities. Seven Ss expressed sadness or a mildly depressed mood, five Ss found themselves being irritable, and five Ss admitted to experiencing guilt over believing that they had not done enough to help others or for having survived the attack. Only two Ss admitted to having flashbacks or intrusive thoughts related to the blast. Most enlightening, however, are the characteristics described by many as having facilitated the development of effective coping and adaptation. The value of incorporating critical incident debriefings and command consultation by mental health professionals into a comprehensive counterterrorist program is underscored.
Pavlidis et al. (2002) developed a high-definition thermal-imaging technique that can detect attempted deceit by recording the thermal patterns from people's faces. This technique has an accuracy comparable to that of polygraph examination by experts and has potential for application in remote and rapid security screening, without the need for skilled staff or physical contact. There is an urgent need to devise technologies that can be used for automated, high-throughput screening to identify individuals intending to perform acts of terrorism. High-definition thermal imaging of the face is therefore a promising technology that should allow psychological responses to be detected and analysed rapidly.
There are parallels between the violence that is inflicted by a tyrant within a family and the violence that terrorists inflict on the larger community. After comparing and contrasting the two types of violence, Cox (2001) mentions some existing support groups (such as Parents of Murdered Children) and states a need for special support to be offered to all survivors of violence. The pastoral community represents a large and often untapped resource in times of crisis. According to Everly (2000), it possesses a unique aggregation of characteristics that makes it uniquely valuable amidst the turmoil of a psychological crisis. In critical incidents such as terrorism, mass disasters, violence, the loss of loved ones, and any events wherein human actions result in injury, destruction, and/or death, the pastoral community may possess especially powerful restorative attributes. Everly notes that, heretofore, there has existed no generally recognized and accepted manner in which the healing factors inherent in pastoral care have been functionally integrated with the well-formulated principles of crisis intervention. This paper represents an initial effort to elucidate how the principles of pastoral care may be functionally integrated with those of crisis intervention.
Conclusions
The types of violence, threats, and coercion that can be perpetuated by a terrorist continue to proliferate and create the opportunity for a wide variety of psychological, social and physical consequences. Military psychiatrists have experience with the aftermath of terrorist events, and provide some valuable lessons (Holloway and Benedek, 1999). In the aftermath of terrorist events there is a need for a well-practiced response plan that is performed by a team that is capable of thinking on its feet. Great need, short supplies, and much human suffering put an absolute premium on effective, efficient functioning and judicious decision making. The local and national institutions that are expected to provide the care to victims of terrorism must plan, practice, and work together to ensure a comprehensive, flexible, and integrated effort. The experience and skills of military psychiatrists should be fully utilized in this process. Common psychological consequences and diagnostic considerations should also be considered.
The US military is charged to protect the nation against enemies foreign and domestic. Military psychiatrists may be involved in planning and participating in counter-terrorist operations and in preparing communications with terrorists in order to facilitate the survival and health of hostages (Holloway and Norwood, 1997). The complex nature of terrorist groups and how they are perceived creates the necessity for maintenance of well-organized protocols that address issues of responsibility, communication, response options and procedures related to providing forensic support to victims, consulting with lawyers representing or prosecuting a terrorist, helping the police in a hostage crisis, or providing treatment for an injured victim or his family. Topics addressed by Holloway and Norwood (1997) include: what is terrorism, what is a terrorist act, the frequency of terrorism, the psychology of terror, the sanctioning of terror as a political tool, the logic of terrorism for the terrorist, the support and structure of terrorist groups, profiles of terrorist groups and terrorists, the terrorist as mentally ill (the forensic evaluation of the terrorist), and helping the victims.
Medd and Goldstein (1997) reviewed the international terrorist activities of the last half of the twentieth century and make a case for needed changes in US efforts to curb the growth of terrorism. Measures for averting international terrorism disasters before they occur are discussed. They contend that with the growing availability of weapons of mass destruction and computer technology to terrorist and organized crime groups, there is a growing potential for disasters of proportions never before experienced. The risks are becoming too great to continue with a reactive approach to terrorism. They suggest that the basis for international terrorism has changed since its modern form began in the 1960s. The evolutionary trends of terrorism to make projections for what we can expect in the future is extrapolated. Ideas for preventing terrorist actions before they occur are presented, beginning with an argument for redefining terrorism in terms that enable us to organize more effectively against it.
No one can predict the future. The study of futures research, however, offers insights that may assist in foreseeing certain trends that will affect future events. Jensen (2001) employs a modified version of one futures research methodology, cross-impact analysis, to study the interactions of four trends that will likely influence the future of international terrorism: the expanded use of the Internet on the international level, the effects of emerging ethnic and religious sensibilities, the growing economic gap between the rich and the poor, and the continued role of the United States as the world's predominant superpower.
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REFERENCES Akhtar, Salman (Jun 1999). The psychodynamic dimension of terrorism. Psychiatric Annals. Vol 29(6), pp. 350-355.
Applewhite, Larry; Dickins, Carl (Apr 1997). Coping with terrorism: The OPM-SANG experience Military Medicine. Vol 162(4), pp. 240-243.
Byman, Daniel (Apr-Jun 1998). The logic of ethnic terrorism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. Vol 21(2), pp. 149-169.
Cox, Gerry R (Jul 2001). Surviving terrorism, international and personal Illness Crisis & Loss. Special Issue:. Vol 9(3), , pp. 272-283.
DiGiovanni, Cleto Jr (Oct 1999). Domestic terrorism with chemical or biological agents: Psychiatric aspects American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 156(10), pp. 1500-1505.
Everly, Jr , George S (Spr 2000). "Pastoral crisis intervention": Toward a definition International Journal of Emergency Mental Health. Vol 2(2), pp. 69-71.
Hoffman, Bruce (Jun 1999). The mind of the terrorist: Perspectives from social psychology. Psychiatric Annals. Vol 29(6), pp. 337-340.
Holloway, Harry C; Benedek, David M (Jun 1999). The changing face of terrorism and military psychiatry. Psychiatric Annals. Vol 29(6), pp. 363-375.
Holloway, Harry C; Norwood, Ann In: Lande, R. Gregory (Ed); Armitage, David T. (Ed). (1997). Forensic psychiatric aspects of terrorism: Principles and practice of military forensic psychiatry (pp. 409-451). Springfield, IL, US: Charles C Thomas, Publisher. xxvii, 526 pp.
Jensen, Carl J III (Feb 2001). Beyond the tea leaves: Futures research and terrorism. American Behavioral Scientist. Special Issue: Terrorism in the 21st century. Vol 44(6), , pp. 914-936.
Medd, Roger; Goldstein, Frank (Jul-Sep 1997). International terrorism on the eve of a new millennium. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. Vol 20(3), pp. 281-316.
Pavlidis, Ioannis; Eberhardt, Norman L; Levine, James A (Jan 2002). Seeing through the face of deception Nature. Vol 415(6867), , pp. 35.
Peleg, Samuel (Jul-Sep 1997). They shoot prime ministers, too, don't they? Religious violence in Israel: Premises, dynamics and prospects. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. Vol 20(3). pp. 227-247.
Simon, Jeffrey D (Spr 1999). Nuclear, biological, and chemical terrorism: Understanding the threat and designing responses. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, Vol 1(2), pp. 81-89.
Simpson, Michael Danieli, Yael (Ed) (1998). The second bullet: Transgenerational impacts of the trauma of conflict within a South African and world context . International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma. The Plenum series on stress and coping (pp. 487-511). New York, NY, US: Plenum Press. xxiii, 710 pp.
Sprang, Ginny (Feb 1999). Post-disaster stress following the Oklahoma City bombing: An examination of three community groups. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol 14(2), pp. 169-183.
Vila, G; Bertrand, C; Friedman, S; Porche, L -M; Mouren-Simeoni, M -C (Nov 2000). Trauma by indirect exposure, objective and subjective implication/Trauma par exposition indirecte, implication objective et subjective Annales Medico-Psychologiques. Vol 158(9), pp. 677-686 Editions Elsevier, France.
To search for books on disasters and disaster mental
health topics, leaders, leadership, orgainizations,
crisis intervention, leaders and crises, and related
topics and purchase them online, go to the following url:
https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odochartaigh/searchbooks.html
RECOMMENDED READING
Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism
by John K. Cooley
Book Description
To oppose the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan in 1979, the United States formed an extraordinary anti-Communist alliance with militant Islamic forces in South Asia. John Cooley describes the development of U.S. foreign policy and CIA covert activity in the 1980s, which facilitated the training and arming of almost a quarter of a million Islamic mercenaries drawn from around the world. Cooley marshals a wealth of evidence to demonstrate the devastating consequences of this alliance between the U.S. government and radical Islam--from the assassination of Sadat, the destabilization of Algeria and Checnya and the emergence of the Taliban, to the bombings of the World Trade Center and the US embassies in Africa.
Cooleye examines the crucial role of Pakistan's military intelligence organization; uncovers China's involvement and its aftermath; the extent of Saudi financial support; the role of "America's most wanted man." the guerrilla leader Osama bin Laden; the BCCI connection; and the CIA's cynical promotion of drug traffic to the Golden Crescent. UNHOLY WARS seeks out the lessons to be learned from this still unfolding drama.
This completely revised edition examines the new terrorist conspiracy network uncovered in the US and Canada, linked to Bin Laden since December 1999. It also covers the many important events in Pakistan since the military coup of October 1999 and the impact of this on Indo-Pakistani relations. Cooley also focuses on recent events in Algeria, which have been linked to the role of the "Afghanis" in the extremist GIA whose members are involved in the new US-Canada conspiracies.
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Contact your local Mental Health Center or
check the yellow pages for counselors, psychologists,
therapists, and other Mental health Professionals in
your area for further information.
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George W. Doherty
Rocky Mountain Region
Disaster Mental Health Institute
Box 786
Laramie, WY 82073-0786
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT Online: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
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