Mental Health and Disasters

A reference on mental health and disasters, focused on the full spectrum of psychopathologies associated with many different types of disasters.

Yuval Neria (Edited by), Sandro Galea (Edited by), Fran H. Norris (Edited by)

9781107412828, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 January 2013

642 pages
25.4 x 17.8 x 3.3 cm, 1.1 kg

'… I liked the fact that the book has a forward-looking perspective … I commend this book without reservation. It is well written and the editors have achieved a good balance among the chapters. The authors are rigorous in their critical analysis of the research from which the data are derived, and they identify fruitful opportunities for researchers, practitioners and policy makers.' The British Journal of Psychiatry

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, disaster preparedness and response has developed into a discrete subspecialty in medicine, and the paramount health care initiative of the US Government. The mental health component of disaster response is a serious subject of study, as trauma is associated with a substantial and long-lasting psychologic burden, both on an individual and community level. The psychopathologies associated with disaster are also quite broad, varying from several different types of post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders to acute variations of grief-associated depression. This book is the definitive reference on mental health and disasters, focused on the assessment and treatment of the full spectrum of psychopathologies associated with many different types of individual disasters. The logistics for utilizing pre-existing community-based mental health services, as well as the development of new programs, are covered in depth. Case studies and perspectives for improving care, incorporating lessons from Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, are included in detail.

1. Disaster mental health: exposure, impact, and responses
Part I. Concepts: 2. Disaster mental health research - past, present, and future
3. The experience of disaster: trauma, loss, adversities, and community effects
Part II. Psychopathology after Disasters: 4. Anxiety disorders and PTSD
5. Physical health problems after disasters
6. Substance use and misuse after disaster: prevalences and correlates
7. Depression and prolonged grief in the wake of disasters
8. What is psychopathology after disasters? Considerations about the nature of the psychological and behavioral consequences of disease
Part III. Vulnerability and Resilience: 9. Resilience after disaster
10. Social and cognitive frameworks for understanding the mental health consequences of disasters
11. Distinctions that matter: received social support, perceived social support, and social embeddedness after disasters
Part IV. Special Groups: 12. Women and disasters
13. Child mental health in the aftermath of disaster: a review of PTSD studies
14. Disaster mental health in older adults: symptoms, policy, and planning
15. The effects of disaster on the mental health of individuals with disabilities
16. Factors associated with exposure and response to disasters among marginalized populations
17. Journalism and media during disasters
18. Uniformed rescue workers responding to disaster
Part V. Interventions and Health Services: 19. Mental health treatments in the wake of disaster
20. Evidence-based long-term treatment of mental health consequences of disaster among adults
21. Mental health care for children in the wake of disasters
22. Utilization of mental health services after disasters
Part VI. Case Studies
Section 1. Natural Disasters: 23. The mental health impact of the Southeast Asia tsunami
24. Advances in our understanding of earthquake trauma and its treatment - a self-help model of mental health care for survivors
25. Hurricane Katrina
Section 2. Technological Disasters: 26. The long-term mental health impacts of the Chernobyl accident
27. The Exxon Valdez oil spill
28. Enschede fireworks disaster
Section 3. Mass Violence: 29. Eyewitness to mass murder: findings from studies of four multiple shooting episodes
30. The Oklahoma City bombing
31. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York
32. The psychological consequences of the London bombings
33. Psychological responses to terrorism in Israel: 2000–4
Part VII. Questions and Directions: 34. Methodological challenges in studying the mental health consequences of disasters
35. Community burden of disability and disease.

Subject Areas: Trauma & shock [MMKB], Psychiatry [MMH], Public health & preventive medicine [MBN]