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Disaster Victims and the Response to Trauma

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Textbook of Community Psychiatry

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Abstract

Disasters are common and widespread. As this chapter is being written, the United States and much of the world have been in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic for well over a year. Not since the Spanish Flu of the 1918 has the world witnessed such profound devastation to life, economies, and threats to social values. Much of the psychological impact of the pandemic remains to be studied, yet early data suggest a profound toll and a robust need for enhanced prevention and treatment resources. The scope, longevity, and nature of the pandemic distinguish it from more proscribed disaster events, but there are mental health impacts common to all disasters. What are the psychological and behavioral effects of disaster or other traumatic events? What are the trajectories of such effects? Who is at risk for significant problems? To what extent and by what means can the adverse sequelae of disaster be prevented or mitigated? How can psychiatrists and other mental health professionals assist in disaster preparedness and response? This chapter will address these issues, especially highlighting the important roles that community psychiatrists and other mental health professionals can play in the pre-, peri-, and post-disaster setting.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Matthew N. Goldenberg

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    David Benedek

  3. Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Robert J. Ursano

Authors
  1. Matthew N. Goldenberg
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  2. David Benedek
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  3. Robert J. Ursano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew N. Goldenberg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Wesley E. Sowers

  2. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine | NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA

    Hunter L. McQuistion

  3. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA

    Jules M. Ranz

  4. Professor Emerita of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jacqueline Maus Feldman

  5. Vice Chair/Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Ohio, OH, USA

    Patrick S. Runnels

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Goldenberg, M.N., Benedek, D., Ursano, R.J. (2022). Disaster Victims and the Response to Trauma. In: Sowers, W.E., McQuistion, H.L., Ranz, J.M., Feldman, J.M., Runnels, P.S. (eds) Textbook of Community Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10239-4_32

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