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.
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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 Research Disaster Mental Health Research](https://staging-wp.policylab.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Disaster-Mental-Health-Research.jpg)
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.
- Percutaneous Neuromodulation and Therapeutic Exercise in Patients With Nonspecific Chronic Neck Painon July 26, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Neck Pain; Chronic Pain Interventions: Other: Percutaneous neuromodulation Sponsors: Universidad de Almeria Recruiting
- Modified Constraint Induced Movement Therapy With And Without Cross Education In Cerebral Palsyon July 26, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Cerebral Palsy Interventions: Other: Group A: mCIMT with cross-education; Other: Group B: mCIMT without cross-education Sponsors: Riphah International University Recruiting
- Evaluation of Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Surgically Treated Multiligamentous Knee Injurieson July 26, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Knee Ligament Injury; PCL - Posterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture; PROMs Sponsors: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli Recruiting
- The Bern Rehab Registryon July 23, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Cancer; Cardiovascular Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Pulmonary Disease Interventions: Other: Comprehensive disease-specific rehabilitation Sponsors: Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern Recruiting
- Dimethyl Fumarate in Adrenomyeloneuropathyon July 22, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Adrenomyeloneuropathy Without Cerebral Involvement Interventions: Other: Placebo; Drug: Dimethyl fumarate Sponsors: Pujol, Aurora, M.D.; Instituto de Salud Carlos III; Spanish Clinical Research Network - SCReN; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge Recruiting
- Preliminary Study Using Artificial Intelligence Technology to Identify Differences in Facial Expressions Between Healthy People, Patients With Cognitive Decline, and Patients With Dementiaon July 22, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Artificial Intelligence Technology; Identify Facial Expressions; Cognitive Decline; Dementia Sponsors: National Taiwan University Hospital Recruiting
- Early Recognition and Intervention in Siblings at High-risk for Neurodevelopmental Disorderon July 22, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Autism Spectrum Disorder Interventions: Behavioral: Early intervention; Behavioral: Active monitoring Sponsors: Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus; University of Milano Bicocca; Politecnico di Milano; Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; University of Turin, Italy Recruiting
- The Effect of Cognitive Exercise on Upper Extremity Functions, Balance and Cognitive Functions in Multiple Sclerosison July 19, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Multiple Sclerosis Interventions: Other: Cognitive Rehabilitation; Other: Core-based Upper Extremity Exercises Sponsors: Ankara Yildirim Beyazıt University; Gulhane Training and Research Hospital Recruiting
- Early Interferon-beta Treatment for West-Nile Virus Infectionon July 19, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: West Nile Virus; West Nile Fever Encephalitis; West Nile Fever Myelitis; West Nile Fever With Other Complications Interventions: Drug: Rebif 44 MCG Per 0.5 ML Prefilled Syringe; Drug: Saline Sponsors: Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Recruiting
- Iterative Redesign of a Multifaceted Implementation Strategy for a School-based Behavioral Skills Intervention (RUBI)on July 18, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder Interventions: Behavioral: Unadapted Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) implementation strategy; Behavioral: RUBI in Educational Settings (RUBIES)-Team Sponsors: University of Washington; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Recruiting
- Parent-Child Interaction in Garding Activities for Early Intervention Preschool Childrenon July 18, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Development Delay Interventions: Behavioral: Parent-Child Interaction group Sponsors: Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital Recruiting
- Hyaluronic Acid and Adelmidrol (Hyadrol®) in Patients With Degenerative Joint Diseaseon July 17, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Degenerative Joint Disease Interventions: Device: Hyadrol® Sponsors: University of Roma La Sapienza; Azienda Ospedaliera "Sant'Andrea" 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