What is Disaster Mental Health?
Disaster mental health refers to mental health services for victims, first responders, and medical personnel who experience disaster. Disaster can include a wide variety of sudden, catastrophic events that cause loss of life, such as an earthquake, a terrorist attack, or even a global pandemic.
What Conditions Are Associated With Disaster Mental Health?
Traumatic experiences during disaster can produce a variety of mental health conditions that last long after danger ends. Some of these may be related to neurological changes produced by long periods of “fight or flight.”
One of the most prominent conditions associated with disaster mental health is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.) Once thought common only in military conflict, it is now understood PTSD can come from any intense experience of danger that provokes feelings of helplessness.
PTSD can have symptoms including flashbacks, memory loss (especially in relation to the traumatic event), anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, and angry outbursts. The vast majority of PTSD sufferers are nonviolent and pose no threat to others.
Anxiety and depression are typical complications from any disaster. Both adults and children may feel guilty, believing they “should have done more.” Emotional flashbacks in which the sufferer re-experiences negative emotions without “seeing” or “hearing” the event, are common.
Disaster Mental Health Recovery and Lifestyle Changes
Disaster mental health treatment often includes a combination of medication and therapy. Medication focuses on reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Therapy can be in a group or one-on-one setting. Its primary goal is to help a sufferer process trauma.
One of the biggest challenges in disaster mental health care is the difficulty sufferers face verbalizing their experiences. Processing the emotions that come from trauma help reduce their effect on a person’s life. Novel approaches such as art therapy help many individuals express trauma in a way that helps. Techniques like journaling may also be used.
Disaster mental health patients need to identify psychological triggers in their environment. These triggers can cause them to re-experience the emotions or sensations of a past trauma. At first, recognizing and avoiding such triggers is advisable. With professional help, it’s possible to overcome the negative associations of triggers in a controlled environment.
Disaster Mental Health Research
Disaster mental health has been a prominent concern in psychology for decades. As researchers have uncovered effects of trauma on the brain, it has become clear profound neurological changes can occur during disaster even if one is not physically harmed.
Disaster mental health research focuses on two main areas: Reduction and treatment. Reduction aims to equip at-risk populations, like police and EMTs, with coping strategies to manage trauma. Treatment focuses on the neurobiology of trauma, creating better clinical resources for disaster mental health.
Why is Further Disaster Mental Health Research Necessary?
Millions of people all around the world are affected by mental health issues arising from disaster. The lessons of disaster mental health apply to everything from the COVID-19 outbreak to individual experiences of sexual assault or other criminal violence. With that in mind, all disaster mental health research has potential to help a broad spectrum of the population.
Disaster Mental Health Clinical Trials
This list contains all disaster mental health clinical trials on record at ClinicalTrials.gov. To feature a clinical trial on our site, contact us.
- A Group Intervention for Promoting Health-related Habits (LEV-G)on May 8, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Life Style; Health-Related Behavior; Disabilities Mental; Disability Physical; Acceptability of Health Care Interventions: Behavioral: Lev-g Sponsors: Region Stockholm; Karolinska Institutet; Promobilia Foundation Recruiting
- Study of the Drivers of Late Diagnosis of Alcohol Related Diseases, Alone or in Combination With Metabolic Dysfunconal Associated Fatty Liver Disease, Implementation and Evaluation of Itnerventions to Reduce Its Burden.on May 7, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Alcohol-related Liver Disease; Alcohol Use Disorder; Metabolic and Alcohol Related/Associated Liver Disease; Metabolic Disfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Interventions: Behavioral: brief intervention Sponsors: Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron Research Institute; Universitat Pompeu Fabra; IDIAPJgol Recruiting
- The Pocket Skills Adjunct Projecton May 7, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Substance Use Disorders; Alcohol Use Disorder; Depression; Anxiety Interventions: Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Sponsors: University of Windsor; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Recruiting
- Baker Gordon Syndrome Natural History Studyon May 6, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Rare Diseases; Autism or Autistic Traits; Development Delay; SYT-SSX Fusion Protein Expression; Sleep Disorder; Epilepsy, Generalized; Motor Delay Interventions: Diagnostic Test: Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Genetic: Whole Genome Sequencing; Other: Induced Pluripotential Stem Cells Sponsors: University of Missouri-Columbia Recruiting
- Trans Cutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Versus TENS On Blood Pressure In Primary Hypertension Patientson May 6, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Hypertension; Quality of Life Interventions: Device: Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation; Device: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (group b): Sponsors: Tawfik Tawfik Mahmoud Emara Recruiting
- Understanding and Managing Pain for Thalidomide Survivorson May 3, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Pain, Chronic; Pain Interventions: Other: Usual Care Sponsors: University of Nottingham; The Thalidomide Trust Recruiting
- Investigating the Impact of Acupuncture on the Quality of Life of Primitive Headaches Patientson May 3, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Headache Migraine Interventions: Other: Real acupuncture; Other: Sham acupuncture Sponsors: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Recruiting
- A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of VR for Bipolar Disorderon May 3, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Bipolar Disorder; VR; Interventional Study Interventions: Device: VR therapy; Device: VR sham Sponsors: Shanghai Mental Health Center; Nanjing XR-Oasis Technology Co., Ltd. Recruiting
- Navigating Pregnancy and Parenthood With Lyme Diseaseon May 3, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Lyme Disease; Post Treatment Lyme Disease; Chronic Lyme Disease; Tick-Borne Infections; Tick-Borne Diseases; Pregnancy Complications; Parenting Interventions: Other: Quantitative surveys and qualitative interview Sponsors: Children's National Research Institute; Clinical Trials Network for Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases; Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation Recruiting
- Psychological Symptoms in Cardiac and Pulmonary Diseaseson May 2, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Psychological Distress; Anxiety; Depression; Cardiovascular Diseases; Pulmonary Disease; Rehabilitation; Coping Behavior Interventions: Other: no intervention because it is an observational study Sponsors: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA Recruiting
- Combined Effects of Virtual Reality and Motor Imagery in Patients With Non-specific Neck Painon May 2, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Cervical Pain; Kinesiophobia; Pain Interventions: Other: Virtual Reality; Other: Motor Imagery; Other: Routine Physical therapy Sponsors: Riphah International University Recruiting
- Beijing Disability Risk and Ageing Monitoring Studyon May 1, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Age Problem; Disability; Death Interventions: Other: No intervention Sponsors: Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing Recruiting
Conclusion
With more people experiencing disaster, stigma around seeking disaster mental health treatment is beginning to fade. Disaster mental health clinical resources will depend on active clinical trials that uncover further information about the brain’s trauma response. Further medical research may help millions of people reclaim their sense of stability.
Sources
- https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/abc/Pages/disaster-behavioral.aspx
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325578
- https://www.rainn.org/articles/flashbacks
- https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/index.asp
- https://www.mhanational.org/coping-disaster
- https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-treatments-for-posttraumatic-stress-disorder
- https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/tx_basics.asp