Mental Health Prioritization in Disasters
Disasters are disruptors and have the potential to cause not only social and economic damage but also significant physical and mental health strains on a community. Sudden disasters can lead to feelings of shock, grief, loss, insecurity, and stress confounded by cascading impacts, including the displacement and loss of community members. These psychological impacts can lead to negative effects on mental health, such as increased anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances. In some cases, this may develop into more prolonged care needs, such as adjustment disorders, Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), and or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Effective emergency preparedness and response efforts can mitigate the negative impacts of disasters on mental health by helping community-based organizations and clinical facilities maintain continuity of pre-disaster operations and expand services to meet increased post-disaster demand—and providing disaster mental health training and critical incident stress management support for response personnel and volunteers.
Strategies to enhance disaster mental health preparedness involve:
- Deploying Mobile Mental Health Units to disaster-affected areas to help remove barriers to accessing care (e.g., limited physical mobility, transportation needs, rural location).
- Establishing Temporary Crisis Counseling Centers as community hubs for immediate access to mental health care and referrals for longer-term services; these can also be co-located with other disaster assistance sites.
- Ensuring Continuous Access to Care by mitigating potential supply chain interruptions, pre-positioning supplies and medications as part of preparedness efforts, pre-identifying alternate facilities (and associated transportation), and keeping clients and caregivers apprised of alternate care options and resources if primary systems fail.
- Building Pre-Disaster Capacity by creating sustainable community partnerships for mental health first aid training, and psychological first aid and disaster readiness trainings and integrating these programs into governmental and private sector preparedness efforts, alongside CPR, first aid, and fire safety.
Investments in disaster mental health help to maintain continuity of care for individuals with pre-disaster conditions—avoiding a lapse in treatment that may result in a mental health crisis—and provide disaster survivors and responders with tools to navigate disaster-related stressors and trauma in support of their long-term recovery and resilience.
Hagerty Can Help
Hagerty can provide your community with the essential tools to address the psychosocial impacts of a disaster prior to, during, and after a disaster, as shown in the graphic below.
For more information about how Hagerty Consulting can support your organization with Disaster Mental Health, or broader preparedness and response readiness, contact Hagerty at [email protected]
Haley Broder is a Preparedness Senior Managing Associate and a social worker, an expert in trauma-informed care and support to vulnerable populations following humanitarian disasters. Her person-centered approach and relationship-building are key to effectively working with communities before, during, and after an emergency. Haley has led emergency responses to natural and human-made disasters worldwide, led global preparedness efforts, and conducted trainings on psychological first aid, mental health and psychosocial support, and gender-based violence post-emergencies.