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.
Conditions: Breast Cancer; Surgery; Chemotherapy Effect; Radiotherapy Side Effect; Pain, ChronicInterventions: Other: Training; Other: ControlSponsors: Aalborg University; Danish Cancer Society; Danish Cancer Survivor and Late Effects Group; Universidad de GranadaRecruiting
Condition: Autism Spectrum DisorderIntervention: Behavioral: ASD Screening Parent ENgagement Intervention Program (ASPEN)Sponsors: Texas State University, San Marcos; National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation ResearchRecruiting
Condition: Cardiac Valve DiseaseIntervention: Behavioral: EXPECT: Preoperative optimization of cardiac valve patient's expectationsSponsors: Philipps University Marburg Medical Center; Heart Centre Rotenburg; Justus-Liebig University Gießen Medical CenterRecruiting
Condition: DepressionIntervention: Sponsor: Shanghai Mental Health CenterRecruiting
Conditions: Brain Injuries; Disorder of ConsciousnessIntervention: Genetic: Genetic analysis of different single nucleotide polymorphisms on ApoE, BDNF and DRD2 genes assessmentSponsor: Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi OnlusRecruiting
Condition: PolyhandicapIntervention: Behavioral: qualitative studySponsor: Assistance Publique Hopitaux De MarseilleRecruiting
Conditions: Executive Function; Social Interaction; Disability, DevelopmentalIntervention: Other: Collaborative occupational therapy interactive vaulting groupSponsor: East Carolina UniversityRecruiting
Condition: MDDIntervention: Drug: SSRI with Zinc SulfateSponsor: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, BangladeshRecruiting
Condition: Alzheimer DiseaseInterventions: Device: Active TMS; Behavioral: CILT; Device: Sham TMSSponsors: University of Pennsylvania; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)Recruiting
Conditions: Covid19; Coma; Consciousness DisorderIntervention: Diagnostic Test: Functional MRISponsor: Massachusetts General HospitalRecruiting
Conditions: Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental DisordersInterventions: Drug: RO6953958; Drug: PlaceboSponsor: Hoffmann-La RocheRecruiting
Condition: Bipolar DepressionIntervention: Sponsor: Shanghai Mental Health CenterRecruiting
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.