Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event

Planning Resources for State and Local Governments

Emergencies can have a significant impact on individuals’ mental and behavioral health. State and local health departments should include mental health management in each phase of a disaster (pre-event, response, recovery, and evaluation).

Pre-Event Phase

Assess:

• Understand demographic and social characteristics. Identify the language needs, cultural considerations, and reading levels in your area.
• Build relationships with public health officials, community stakeholders, private and public medical providers, and school officials.
• Identify policy and resources for staff supportExternal.
• Find behavioral health treatment facilitiesExternal in your state.
• Work with the National Association of Mental Health Program Directors.

Plan:

• Establish the role of partners, like community-based organizations, in mental health services during an emergency.
• Identify and train mental health professionals and response staff to provide counseling, triage, outreach, and education during a crisis or emergency.
• Plan for interpreter and translation services.
• Train provider groups, including public health nurses, school health professionals, and community support workers in psychosocial consequences of terrorism and disasters.
• Develop a risk communication plan and templates.
• Develop a triage system to connect victims with emergency mental health services when needed.

Assess these community characteristics:

• Culture, religion, ethnicity
• Shared values
• Social resources
• Access to healthcare
• Average level of education
• At-risk populations
• Languages spoken
• Local non-governmental and community-based organizations

Response Phase

• First meet basic safety and security needs of target populations.
• Provide Psychological First AidExternal at response sites.
• Use crisis and emergency risk communication principles in all messaging.
• Continue to monitor the mental health needs of victims and responders.
• Provide access to counselors in all appropriate languages.
• Distribute educational information appropriate to the event.
• Use triage system to connect victims in acute distress with professional services.
• Provide coping resources for responders and their families.

Recovery Phase

• Continue to monitor mental health needs in the affected population.
• Train social and community leaders on how to help their groups cope.
• Give the community opportunities to come together.
• Promote availability of coping resources.
• Anticipate and plan to deal with trauma reminders (such as anniversaries of the event date, or the broadcast of similar incidents on the news).

Evaluation Phase

• Monitor for long-term mental stress in the community and for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Identify and address gaps in your mental health preparedness plan.

Additional Resources

• Resources for Leaders to Help Communities Cope
• Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) program
• Mental Health All-Hazards Disaster Planning GuidanceCdc-pdfExternal (SAMHSA)
• Behavioral Health Treatment Services LocatorExternal (SAMHSA).
• Skills for Psychological RecoveryExternal– an intervention designed to follow Psychological First AidCdc-pdfExternal in the weeks and months following disasters and mass violence events. (SAMHSA).
• Resources for School PersonnelExternal (National Child Traumatic Stress Network- NCTSN)