isaster 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.
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 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 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.
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.
This list contains all disaster mental health clinical trials on record at ClinicalTrials.gov. To feature a clinical trial on our site, contact us.
Condition: Chronic StrokeInterventions: Other: Universal Exercise Unit Therapy (UEU); Other: Sling Exercise Therapt (SET); Other: Routine Physical Therapy / Control GroupSponsor: Riphah International UniversityRecruiting
Condition: SchizophreniaIntervention: Behavioral: Overnight polysomnography examinationsSponsors: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)Recruiting
Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Depression; Depressive SymptomsIntervention: Behavioral: BeatIt-ASDSponsors: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatment of AutismRecruiting
Conditions: Stroke; Multiple Sclerosis; Parkinson DiseaseInterventions: Other: Telerehabilitaton; Other: Home ExerciseSponsors: Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa; The Scientific and Technological Research Council of TurkeyRecruiting
Conditions: Mental Disorder; Physical IllnessInterventions: Behavioral: Integrated Care; Behavioral: Peer NavigationSponsors: Illinois Institute of Technology; Arizona State University; Thresholds Inc.Recruiting
Conditions: Covid19; Neurocognitive DysfunctionIntervention: Biological: Exposure: COVID-19 severitySponsors: Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)Recruiting
Condition: Neurodevelopmental DisordersIntervention: Procedure: ENGAGESponsors: University of Alberta; Alberta Health ServicesRecruiting
Conditions: Stroke; Sleep Wake Disorders; Rehabilitation; Recovery of FunctionIntervention: Other: ObservationSponsor: State University of New York - Upstate Medical UniversityRecruiting
Conditions: Pregnancy; Postpartum; Childbirth; Health Status; Physical Fitness; Noncommunicable Diseases; Metabolism; Diabetes Mellitus, Gestational; Pregnancy Induced Hypertension; Body Composition; Back Pain; Pain Threshold; Biomechanics; Pelvic Floor Disorders; Urinary Incontinence; Cognitive Function; Depression; AnxietyInterventions: Behavioral: High intensity interval training program for pregnant women; Behavioral: Moderate intensity continuous training program for pregnant women; Behavioral: Standard obstetric care with extended education on healthy lifestyle; Behavioral: High intensity interval training program for nonpregnant women; Behavioral: Moderate intensity continuous training program for nonpregnant women; Behavioral: Standard health care with extended education on healthy lifestyleSponsors: Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport; Medical University of Gdansk; University of Gdansk; Pomeranian Medical University SzczecinRecruiting
Condition: Pediatric ObesityIntervention: Procedure: Use of the Chalaxie pedagogical evaluation toolSponsor: Groupe Hospitalier de la Region de Mulhouse et Sud AlsaceRecruiting
Condition: Lungs; Developmental DisorderIntervention: Drug: 129XeSponsor: Children's Hospital Medical Center, CincinnatiRecruiting
Conditions: Pain, Neuropathic; Failed Back Surgery SyndromeIntervention: Device: Coordinated Reset spinal cord stimulationSponsor: Stanford UniversityRecruiting
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.