This is a brief summary of important points for mental health professionals working with earthquake survivors.
The main emotional challenges are
- Acute post-traumatic stress
- Grief (pain, loss)
- Anger
- Delayed post-traumatic stress.
Effective techniques for working with post-traumatic stress are required.
Psychological trauma is at the heart of any post-earthquake situation. Therefore, general psychological tools will have a very limited impact.
Initially, specialized techniques and protocols for effective emotional stabilization are essential. If these techniques can be scaled up by applying them to groups, even better.
Later, specialized techniques are needed to deal with delayed traumatic stress.
Any large-scale disaster situation is, by definition, one in which resources are scarce. At least in the beginning, compromises have to be made. When a lack of specialized training is added to the mix, the tragedy is increased.
Complicated grief is expected and needs to be addressed appropriately.
Although earthquakes are natural disasters that are not caused by humans, living conditions contribute to the likelihood that someone will actually die in an earthquake. The perception that man-made factors contributed to the loss of loved ones complicates the grieving process.
Simply put, complicated grief is a form of grief that does not result in a person coming to terms with the loss.
Complicated grief is a preventable part of the overall tragedy. If left unresolved, it can be devastating for decades. It results in a permanent reduction in a person's ability to function and severely affects the quality of life.
The essence of working through complicated grief is working through the anger and helplessness - the traumatic roots of the grief.
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