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Disaster Psychiatry: Principles and Practice

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Abstract

Increasingly, trauma and disasters are part of everyday life. Psychiatrists can play an important role in assisting individuals and communities to recover. They bring a unique set of skills and experiences that can be invaluable in minimizing morbidity and facilitating recovery. This paper discusses psychological, physiological, behavioral, and community responses encountered in the aftermath of a disaster. A preventive medicine model of understanding disaster response is discussed in which the psychiatrist delineates traumatic stressors and high-risk populations. The importance of psychiatric participation in disaster preparedness is emphasized. Psychiatric interventions targeted at the various longitudinal phases of disaster response are reviewed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of The Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland

    Ann E. Norwood, Robert J. Ursano & Carol S. Fullerton

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  1. Ann E. Norwood
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  2. Robert J. Ursano
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  3. Carol S. Fullerton
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Norwood, A.E., Ursano, R.J. & Fullerton, C.S. Disaster Psychiatry: Principles and Practice. Psychiatr Q 71, 207–226 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004678010161

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