Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT October 10, 2003 "Patience and perserverence have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." - John Quincy Adams
Short Subjects
LINKS Rocky Mountain Region
Disaster Mental Health Institute
CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
THIRD ANNUAL
CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS MANAGEMENT
WORKSHOP SERIES
Rocky Mountain Region
Disaster Mental Health Institute
Dates & Locations:
Laramie, WY: November 12-15, 2003
Casper, WY: November 19-22, 2003
Contact: George W. Doherty
Box 786
Laramie, WY 82073
Email: rockymountain@mail2emergency.com
Download FlierIV Mexican Congress of Social Psychology
November 5 - 7, 2003
Location: Tlaxcala, MEXICO
Contact: Manuel Gonzalez, President of SOMEPSO
(Mexican Society of Social Psychology)
Phonr: +52 55 5804 4790, Fax: 5804 4789
Email: gona56@hotmail.com,
gona@xanum.uam.mx, somepso@yahoo.com
International Conference on Creativity and
Imagination in Education and Methods of Mastery
November 17-20 2003
Location: Moscow, RUSSIA
Contact: Vladimir Spiridonov
Vygotsky Institute of Psychology
The Russian State University for the Humanities
Miousskaya Square 6, 125267
Moscow , Russia
Phone: +7-095-250-61-47, 7-095-250-66-32
Fax: +7-095-250-44-33
Email: mdyadyunova@mail.ru
Middle East/North Africa Regional
Conference of Psychology
December 13 - 16, 2003
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Contact: Dr. Raymond H. Hamden
MENA RCP, PO Box 11806
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971-4- 331-4777
Fax: +971-4-331-4001
E-mail: menarcp@hotmail.comSociety for Judgment and
Decision Making Annual Meeting
November 10 - 11 2003
Location: Vancouver, CANADA
Society of Australasian
Social Psychologists 33rd Annual Meeting
April 15 - 18, 2004
Location: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
27th National AACBT Conference
(Australian Association for
Cognitive and Behavior Therapy)
May 15 - 19, 2004
Location: Perth, Western Australia
AUSTRALIA
AFTER THE STORM: DON'T HIRE JUST ANYONE TO PRUNE TREES
Just about anybody can prune a tree, but that doesn't mean they should, says an expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Bill Elmendorf, assistant professor of community and urban forestry warns that "if you hire someone to trim a tree, and it seems like a great deal, it's probably not." He says homeowners should call a professional arborist if: the tree's leaves are discolored, chewed or curled, indicating insect or disease damage; the tree has dead wood in the structure; there is storm damage such as the cracks or broken limbs left in many east coast trees following Hurricane Isabel's visit; they are planning construction projects and would like to save particular trees; trees are interfering with wires or windows; the tree or its roots need pruned. Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/4194
FOCUS ON GRADUATE RESEARCH: LOOKING FOR WEST NILE VIRUS IN SONGBIRDS
Nearly alone among the many researchers focusing on the West Nile virus nationally, Adam Rohnke, a graduate student in wildlife and fisheries science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is looking for the virus in songbirds. "We just don't know if West Nile is prevalent in birds across our region, or even if songbirds are carrying it," he says. To find out, Rohnke is conducting songbird counts at two Centre County sites, and checking some birds' blood for the virus in the process. "Big birds are easy to find when they die, but the songbirds migrate, so they could be spreading the virus," he notes. Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/index.php?cmd=vs&story=4058
Fallen Firefighters Honored The 22nd Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Tribute was held on Oct. 5 at FEMA’s National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md. The memorial includes plaques bearing the names of 2,732 firefighters who have died in the line of duty since 1981. Click Here for National Fallen Firefighter's Foundation: http://www.firehero.org/
Paulison Honored For Fire Prevention Efforts
R. David Paulison, U.S. Fire Administrator and Director of Preparedness at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been named “Fire Protection Person of the Year” by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. For the Full Story, go to: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=5786
Annan discusses future challenges for UN with relief officials
Terrorism and its reinforcement are the great threats to peace and security for some countries, but developing countries assess civil wars, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and human rights violations as greater destabilizing factors, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today. For the Full Story, go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8463&Cr=reform&Cr1=
Annan looks to US group for assistance with work ahead in Iraq
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that work ahead in Iraq will not be easy and he called upon the United Nations Association of the United States to help with leadership and with communication of the UN story to the American people. For the Full Story, go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8498&Cr=iraq&Cr1=
WHO unveils kit to help blindness prevention programmes
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) today launched a compact disk tool kit to help countries and non-governmental organizations develop programmes to combat the problem of increasing numbers of people who are needlessly becoming blind. For the Full Story, go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8496&Cr=sight&Cr1=
The Behavioral Complaint: Symptom of a Psychiatric Disorder or a Matter of Temperament?
"Different" is not the same as "abnormal," yet a range of individual differences have been categorized and labeled as "abnormalities" or "mental disorders." For the article, go to: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/460592
Manic Symptoms in Young Males With ADHD Predict Functioning But Not Diagnosis After 6 Years
Researchers sought to determine whether the presence of mania in childhood has predictive value for bipolar disorder by early adulthood. For the article, go to: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/456666
WHAT'S IN THE NEWS: THE SUPREME COURT THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Had Franklin Roosevelt had his way, four of the current Supreme Court justices might have retired instead of starting a new session this week. As described in this week's edition of "What's in the News," a current events program produced for school children by Penn State Public Broadcasting, in 1937, Roosevelt argued that the Court needed "younger blood." In fact, it was the justices' rulings, not their age that worried the president -- he felt they were preventing him from bringing an end to the Great Depression. His proposal, never enacted, was that for every justice over the age of 70 who refused to retire, he would appoint a new justice until the Court had 15 justices. This week, "What's in the News" takes a look at criminal justice issues. Read the full story at: http://live.psu.edu/story/4211
DISASTER RESPONSE: THE ADAPTATION PROCESS
Disaster victims can suffer various losses. These can include loved ones, their health, material belongings, animals, employment, the environment to which they belong, and their dreams. It is normal to be shaken by a major loss and to suffer from it. During a disaster, the survivors experience great losses and suffer from them.
The Warheit Model
The Warheit Model (1979) takes into account the systematic relation among incidents in life, adaptation resources, and the consequences of stress. The model presumes that:
the biological constitution of the individual
the psychological characteristics of the individual
the culture
the social structure (particularly interpersonal relations)
the geophysical environment
the individual's life experiences are diverse sources that influence the filters which enable or prevent the individual to adapt to psychosocial stress during traumatic incidents.
When assessing a situation, there are some pertinent and relevant questions which can help in understanding the current situation.
How did he/she perceive the incident?
What were the effects of the incident on this person?
What are the factors which minimized the effects of this traumatic incident?
What are the factors which amplified the effects of this traumatic incident?
What are the types of support which helped this person?
What are the adaptation mechanisms utilized by this person? Perception Of The Incident By The Person
Description
If the incident is perceived in a realistic manner:
There will be a realization of the relationship between the incident and the sensations of stress which, in itself, will reduce the tension.
It is probable that the situation of stress will be effectively resolved. If the perception of the incident is distorted:
The relationship between the incident and the sensation of stress will also be distorted.
There are different ways of distorting the incident. The person may amplify, generalize, or minimize the incident.
Any attempt to resolve the problem will be affected in the same way. Hypotheses To Be Verified
For the person who experiences the traumatic incident:
What significance does the incident have for him/her?
How will it affect his/her future?
How will he/she interpret this incident? ~ Can he/she regard it in a realistic manner? or~ Does he/she misinterpret its significance?
Support By The Person's Natural Network
Description
Support from the natural network includes the people who are accessible and who can be counted on for their assistance when it is needed.
In a situation of stress, a total lack of support or insufficient support can leave an individual in a vulnerable position liable to result in a state of disequilibrium or a crisis. Hypotheses To Be Verified
For the person who experiences the traumatic incident:
Is he/she surrounded by a significant network?
Does the support received appear to him/her to be adequate and sufficient?
Is this support network easily accessible and for how long? Adaptation Mechanisms Utilized By The Person
Description
These mechanisms reduce tension and facilitate adaptation to stressful situations. They can be put into practice consciously or unconsciously.
Throughout his/her life, an individual learns to use various methods to adapt to his/her feelings of anxiety and to reduce his/her tensions. The aim of these mechanisms is to maintain and protect his/her equilibrium.
When an incident which provokes stress occurs and the adaptation mechanisms already learned are not effective, the disturbance is then felt on a conscious level. Hypotheses To Be Verified
For the person who experiences the traumatic incident:
Are adaptation mechanisms being utilized?
Are these mechanisms succeeding in maintaining and protecting his/her equilibrium?
How does he/she view his/her future? 5 STAGES OF THE MOURNING PROCESS IN DISASTERS
These five stages are a very useful guide to understanding the different phases that a disaster victim or bereaved person may experience. Different individuals do not necessarily go through each stage, in the same order, or at the same rate. But this paradigm, applied in a flexible and intuitive manner, is a useful instrument for understanding the behavior of disaster victims.
NegationWhen a misfortune or catastrophe is announced, our first reaction is not to accept it, but to refuse it.
The contrary would be abnormal and it is an indication that, for our psychic organization, the most important thing is to avoid unpleasantness without actually denying reality.
This refusal is, at the same time, the beginning of a process of becoming aware of a frightful reality and is aimed at protecting us from the violence of the shock.
Anger
Anger is an emotion caused by our impotence in regard to what has been arbitrarily imposed upon us.
This anger is inevitable and enables the person to express his/her distress in regard to the situation. So we must not be surprised that survivors take out their anger on the people around them: families, friends, relief workers, government representatives, etc.
Bargaining
The person accepts the fact of the loss that he/she could have or has suffered due to the disaster or the tragedy, but he/she tries to gain either time, financial compensation or other, sometimes by bargaining with God, with the authorities, with insurance companies, etc.
When a person bargains with God (even if he/she has never addressed God before), he/she promises to be "good" or to do such and such a thing in exchange for what he/she wants to obtain.
Depression
The path toward acceptance of the loss passes through a stage of depression.
The lost being remains omnipresent. Certainly, in reality he/she is gone, we are aware of it, and we try to accept it.
But on the inside, we reinforce our connections with him/her since he/she is no longer present in objective reality.
This intense re-appropriation process helps lessen our pain and offers a degree of consolation by providing a sort of temporary survival of the loved one inside us. At the same time this movement enables us, little by little, to begin the work of becoming unattached.
Little by little, these movements toward non-attachment become less frequent, the pain subsides, the sadness diminishes, the lost being seems to be less present, his/her importance has a tendency to decrease, the end of the mourning period is close.
Acceptance
This stage is neither happy nor unhappy. The loss has left a scar, just as any other wound, but the "I" is becoming free to live, love and create again. The person begins to look toward the future, plan projects; the mourning has ended.
REACTIONS TO STRESS
After having experienced an extraordinary incident, such as a serious threat to their life or the sudden destruction of their home, many people may experience distress. This distress is usually manifested in the person by normal reactions. For others, these reactions may affect their ability to function and to interact with the people around them.
Acute ReactionsThese are reactions that many individuals (but not all) feel during a traumatic incident, immediately, in the hours and weeks following the incident. They are usually normal, but can affect certain individuals in a severe manner and may extend over a longer period.
Cumulative Reactions
These are reactions which occur after several traumatic incidents have been experienced. These incidents have either been suppressed or poorly metabolized. They make the individual vulnerable in his/her ability to deal with the actual situation.
Delayed Reactions
These are reactions which occur weeks, months, or even years after a traumatic incident. They usually involve mental health problems.
DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH A POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER Source: Exerpt from DSM-IV (1994)
A. The subject has experienced an extraordinary incident which causes evident symptoms of distress in most individuals.A serious threat to life or physical integrity.
A danger or major source of unhappiness for the person's children, spouse, other close relatives or friends.
A sudden destruction of his home or neighborhood.
The discovery of someone who is seriously injured or has died in an accident or following an act of physical aggression.
Intense fear of the horror, lack of assistance or aid: in a child this may be manifested by disorganized or agitated behavior. B. The traumatic incident is constantly relived as is demonstrated by the presence of at least one of the following manifestations:
Repeated and overwhelming memories of the incident cause a feeling of distress: among young children, repeated games expressing themes or aspects of the trauma.
Repeated dreams concerning the incident, causing a feeling of distress: in a child this can be manifested by nightmares which may not necessarily be representative of the incident.
Sudden impression or reaction "as though" the traumatic incident was going to happen again: feeling of reliving the incident, illusions, hallucinations, and flash-backs, including those which occur when awake or when intoxicated.
Intense feeling of distress when the subject is exposed to incidents resembling an aspect of the trauma in question, or symbolizing it (anniversaries of the traumatic incident).
Physiological reactions when exposed to incidents resembling an aspect of the trauma in question, or symbolizing it: ~ A woman who has been raped in an elevator perspires abundantly when she enters an elevator.~ The disturbance persists for at least a month.
C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma or dulling of the general ability to react (which did not exist before the trauma), as is demonstrated by the presence of at least three of the following manifestations:
Efforts to avoid thoughts or feelings associated with the trauma.
Efforts to avoid activities or situations which stimulate reminders of the trauma.
Inability to remember an important aspect of the trauma (psychogenic amnesia).
Marked decrease in interest in activities having a significant value: among young children, loss of recent developmental acquisitions such as toilet training or acquisition of language.
Feeling of detachment or becoming estranged from others.
Blunted affect: inability to experience feelings of tenderness.
Feeling that the future is "blocked": thoughts of not being able to have a career, marry, have children, or live for a long time. D. The presence of persistent symptoms manifested as neurovegetative hyperactivity (which did not exist before the trauma), as is demonstrated by the presence of at least two of the following manifestations:
Difficulty in going to sleep or interrupted sleep patterns.
Irritability or fits of anger.
Difficulty in concentrating.
Hyper-vigilance
Exaggerated involuntary reactions. E. If these symptoms (B,C,D) persist for at least one month.
F. The disorder causes a clinically important stress or even a loss on the social, occupational, or functional level.
Reactions Observed: Extraordinary Incident
At least ONE of the following manifestations:
Repetitive memories
Repeated dreams
Impression that the traumatic incident is happening again
Acts as though the incident was happening again
Intense feeling of distress when exposed to incidents which resemble the incident or commemorate it.
Psychological reactions to situations resembling an aspect of the trauma. At least THREE of the following manifestations:
Effort to avoid any reminder of the trauma.
Avoidance of any activity which arouses memories.
Psychogenic amnesia
Marked decrease in interest for significant activities.
Feeling of detachment in relation to others
Inability to experience feelings of tenderness
Feeling that the future is "blocked" At least TWO of the following manifestations:
Difficulty sleeping
Irritability or fits of anger
Difficulty in concentrating
Hypervigilance
Exaggerated involuntary reactions If these symptoms persist for at least ONE MONTH FOLLOWING THEIR APPEARANCE. The disorder causes a clinically significant stress or even a loss on the social, occupational or functional level - THEN: POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER - REFER.
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REFERENCES
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
Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States
by Kathleen J. Tierney, Michael K. Lindell (Editor), Ronald W. Perry (Editor), Michael, K. Lindell, Ronald, W. Perry, Kathleen, J. Tierney
Book Description
Facing the Unexpected presents the wealth of information derived from disasters around the world over the past 25 years. The authors explore how these findings can improve disaster programs, identify remaining research needs, and discuss disaster within the broader context of sustainable development.
How do different people think about disaster? Are we more likely to panic or to respond with altruism? Why are 110 people killed in a Valujet crash considered disaster victims while the 50,000 killed annually in traffic accidents in the U.S. are not? At the crossroads of social, cultural, and economic factors, this book examines these and other compelling questions.
The authors review the influences that shape the U.S. governmental system for disaster planning and response, the effectiveness of local emergency agencies, and the level of professionalism in the field. They also compare technological versus natural disaster and examine the impact of technology on disaster programs.
Additional Readings at: Disasters and Culture in the search engine. Also try looking here for September 11, 2001: A Simple Account for Children.
Videos on Terrorism
Other videos about terrorism
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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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