ABSTRACT
This article describes issues of countertransference in disaster psychiatry and makes use of specific examples from therapists working in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Subject(s)
Countertransference , Disasters , Psychiatry/methods , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Terrorism/psychology , Attitude , Grief , HumansABSTRACT
Following a devastating fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club, mental health professionals developed an outreach program to identify survivors at risk for long-term impairment and to offer preventive services. Differences among four outreach modes, in terms of impairment and efficiency of effort, are discussed in the context of a general survivors' reluctance to utilize mental health resources.
Subject(s)
Fires , Mental Disorders/prevention & control , Trauma Centers , Adaptation, Psychological , Crisis Intervention , Humans , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Wounds and Injuries/psychologyABSTRACT
The present paper describes the evolution of a mental health preparedness plan for the Grester Concinnati Area. The plan grew out of the experience of members of the University of Cincinnati with survivors of the Buffalo Creek dam collapse (1972) and the Xenia tornado (1974). The plan was later tested following the tragic Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky (May 1977), and the crush of eleven concertgoers at The Who Concert, Riverfront Coliseum (November 1979). Cincinnati's pre-disaster plan and its operation are discussed in light of a recently proposed conceptual framework by Cohen and Ahearn (1980). The authors offer a model for the delivery of mental health services which may be valuable for other communities(AU)
