Shocked, we listened grimly as we learned of the lethal attack on the World Trade Center September 11, 2001, and felt the presence of a new blanket of anxiety. Anthrax and threats of other more virulent bioterrorist weapons loomed. War erupted in Iraq. Katrina and Rita wreaked natural disasters on a national scale. Today pandemic influenza hovers potentially while Avian flu spreads around the world. To mitigate psychiatric damage from disasters, we need for all Ohioans to understand clinical signs and symptoms, ramifications, and healthy interventions for those who are traumatized. We need to understand the many diverse and often misunderstood reactions of persons in an emergency. We need to know how to intervene, to connect and ground, to support and normalize victims of a disaster. To understand our resources and potential future actions, strategic behavioral health disaster linkage and planning is needed to forge growing collaboration among behavioral health structures, non-behavioral health disaster structures, and forensic resources. While we may not know the “when and how” of future disasters, when we functionally and intelligently prepare, we regain our sense of control. We also alleviate the generalized floating anxiety, become more resilient, handle complex scenarios with expert consultation, provide good risk communication, and are stronger through knowledge and collaboration.
Presentation Lead:
Marion E. Sherman, M.D., M.B.A., D.F.A.P.A.
Chief Clinical Officer
Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare/CC
President, Ohio Psychiatric Association
Speakers:
Joseph Hill
Risk Administration Manager
Ohio Department of Mental Health
Cathy Llaneza
Recovery from the perspective of the victim
