Psychiatric News February 4, 2005
Volume 40 Number 3
© 2005 American Psychiatric Association
p. 1
APA Begins Major Outreach To Tsunami-Devastated Nations
Christine Lehmann
This is the first in a series of articles on psychiatry's response to
the recent South Asian tsunami disaster. This article focuses on the first
steps in APA's response.
The mental and emotional impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami in late
December that claimed more than 150,000 lives will be felt for years to
come.
APA's Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters is coordinating
APA's response internationally and domestically.
Committee Chair Anthony Ng, M.D., told Psychiatric News,
"APA will play a major role in providing disaster psychiatry resources
and technical assistance to mental health groups and centers in the
region."
For example, a psychologists' training center in Malaysia has asked for
materials on traumatic stress and other mental health aspects of disasters to
use in training aid workers who are helping tsunami survivors in Indonesia and
other countries in the region, Ng
explained.
| |
A farmer on the island of Gugup leans against a pole in a refugee tent
on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, Sumatra Island, Indonesia, last month. Only
300 people in his village of 850 survived the tsunami. Additional coverage
appears on page
30.
© AP Photo/Peter Dejong
|
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"In order to assess the psychological needs of tsunami survivors and
families, we are collaborating with the World Psychiatric Association; the
U.S. State Department, which has regional psychiatrists; U.S. embassies in
South Asia; and local psychiatric societies," Ng said.
The U.S. embassies in Sri Lanka and Thailand are trying to account for
nearly 3,000 missing Americans presumed to be in these countries when the
tsunami hit in late December.
APA is also in weekly communication with members in India and Sri Lanka who
are providing trauma response training and consultation (see story on facing
page).
APA has also encouraged its district branches to use their disaster
committees to reach out to the South-Asian communities affected by the tsunami
disaster. About 90 percent of the district branches have disaster committees,
and the remainder have been encouraged to develop them.
APA's initial response was to issue a statement from President Michelle
Riba, M.D., M.S., that expressed APA's deepest sympathy to "residents of
countries hit by the catastrophe and to our members, colleagues, and friends
who have lost loved ones. We also wish to convey empathy with those who are
experiencing the effects of disrupted social supports and destruction and loss
of property."
Riba continued, "The grief associated with this disaster is universal
and touches all our lives."
A critical need in affected countries is to help survivors deal with their
massive grief.
Ng commented, "In South Asian cultures, especially in remote areas,
families and extended families live in the same communities. With so many
family members dead or missing and communities devastated, their natural
support network has been disrupted."
Psychiatrists in South Asia hope that funerals and religious rituals will
facilitate the grieving process. The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
(CSTS) at the Uniformed Services University in Maryland has developed fact
sheets for distribution on funerals and memorials, as well as on the
management of stress disorders in disaster and rescue workers.
"Funerals and memorials provide an opportunity to show appreciation
for the person, to grieve together, and to make a new beginning,"
according to the CSTS fact sheet titled "Funerals and Memorials: A Part
of Recovery."
Robert Ursano, M.D., director of the CSTS, told Psychiatric News,
"A major issue is how death and bodies are viewed among South-Asian
religious and cultural groups." For example, Hindus believe in
reincarnation and cremate the dead, while Christians generally believe in the
resurrection of the dead and emphasize burial.
National and international rescue and recovery workers who arrived shortly
after the tsunami hit saw massive numbers of dead adults and children.
"Risks of disability increase when workers are overdedicated to the
recovery task and do not stop to rest or drink and eat, and personalize or
identify with the remains or personal effects," according to the CSTS
fact sheet "Body Recovery and Stress Management for Leaders and
Supervisors."
APA has links on its homepage at
<www.psych.org>
to APA's press release on the tsunami crisis, related resources, and disaster
psychiatry committee site. 
Related Article:
-
Psychiatrists Near and Far Respond to Tragedy
- Christine Lehmann
Psychiatr News 2005 40: 30-31.
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