Crisis Intervention and the Victims of Natural Disasters - Coursework Example

Crisis Intervention and the Victims of Natural Disasters First Last al Affiliation Introduction Floods, earthquakes, fire, hurricanes and tornadoes, tsunami – all are disasters out of human beings’ control bounds. These natural phenomena almost always come unexpectedly, leaving people taken aback as they hit the land. Unlike birthday surprises, the effects they leave behind are traumatic; they cause people physical, financial, emotional and psychological stresses. People with these kinds of stresses often not only need personal interventions but also require the help of others to be able to deal with and modify the situation so as to improve them. This observance became the basis of the existence of crisis intervention. Viewing the positive outcomes of the different support that were given to people in the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston in 1942, Eric Lindemann coined and highlighted the importance of the phrase “crisis intervention” (as cited in Heath & Sheen, 2005, p. 1) as substantial evidences of the importance of its applicability that were starting to arise. Crisis: The Definition Problems are a natural part of life. They are issues that give people emotional, physical or psychological stresses that range from financial difficulties and emotional strains to tragic situations. A case in point, is the problem caused by natural disasters that result to loss of almost every important thing. As a normal reaction, people go through shock, denial, anger and grief for the loss that they had experienced; because of this, they tend to head into the direction where they turn out unable to continue to function well and do their activities to recover from such events. Each person is different from another. They have different tolerance levels to terrible events in life. Severed by the lack of support from other people, it can result to crisis. To become the foundation of this paper’s topic, the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary’s definition of “crisis” will be used: “an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life” (“Crisis,” 2010). Resulting from crisis are two consequences: it either makes the life of a person better or worsen it. If crisis is not efficiently dealt with, a person is thought to be doomed. Thinking of such idea will awaken people’s understanding why there is a need of crisis intervention. The People’s Need for Crisis Intervention People will have to undergo several crises as they travel through life. While some are able to bear every problem that the world necessitates them to handle, others are not. People, especially immediately after natural disasters, would feel helpless as if they have lost the power to control things. They are angered; emotions, specifically those that are unhelpful, spring out. Epstein (2006) put into words his thoughts about this when he stated, “emergencies stir stronger emotions than do protracted problems.” People who are experiencing stresses develop into someone who are always haunted by the memories of the traumatic event and become panicky—ending up unable to effectively cope up with situation that they must have to survive. These people become dependent; always needing the assistance of others to be able to sustain the problems that specific events have had brought. Hence, people who can provide crisis intervention are needed to help this people handle such events. With it, people who have recently been stricken with imagined or actual dilemmas are aided to be able to regain composure and make them able to face the current and future problems themselves. Natural Disasters: Crisis on Focus The world had always been in a “silent” battle against natural disasters since the human beings first existed. Landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fire, hurricanes and thunderstorms – these disasters embody a robber that unknowingly comes at night stealing everything and leaving nothing as much as possible. Although some people view them as another chance to begin life better, most are left devastated by the destructions it caused. One of the recent natural disasters that the whole world was able to witness was the earthquake in Haiti last January 12, 2010. According to an online CBC News article, the earthquake may have had cost Haiti 200,000 of its population (“Officials: Haiti Death,” 2010). Besides the lost lives, the earthquake also destroyed homes, schools, and other infrastructures that represent the living activities of Haitians. Imagining the view of such damage is difficult enough; being in an actual scenario is just as unimaginable. A picture of such condition and experiencing the actual effects that any natural disaster would cause can leave more serious and irreversible harm not only physically but also economically, emotionally and psychologically. One cannot just tell how he or she could react on situations like that. There is never an assurance as to whether one can or cannot tolerate them. Crisis Intervention after Natural Disasters As storms and other calamities come to pass year after year, it is undeniable that they cause irresistible damage to humans and to the environment. The damages it can cause are not only direct and short-lived. In fact, the realization of the gravity of the effects of such tragedies most of the times only sink in right after the calamity had subsided. The memories and the consequences of these catastrophic events have the ability to linger not only in the thoughts of those who have experienced them, but they creep like a constant companion in every aspect of the community, depending on the magnitude of its outcomes. This is one major reason why crisis intervention is needed. It also must be substantially applicable dependent to the varied cases so as to make valuable and positive changes in the lives of those who became victims of natural disasters. According to Young (2001), crisis intervention has become available to “reduce the severity of a victim’s crisis to help the victim win as much mastery over the crisis experience as much as possible” (p. 1). Giving Effective Crisis Intervention after Natural Disasters Although many organizations, government, civic and nongovernment alike, have already established crisis plans that can be applied during a natural disaster, their effectiveness will only be measured after it has been put to action. Hence, the importance of making practical action plans is the first priority. In the search for pertinent crisis plans to be presented in this paper, an article entitled “Critical Actions in Aftermath of Natural Disasters” (Lazarus & Gillespie, 1996, p. 35) has had presented some significant points that are deemed practical and can be applied by crisis interveners at any setting. Conduct a quick assessment of the damage and make appropriate accommodations. During the aftermath of any natural disaster, it is imperative that damage is assessed. It is not only applicable to the damage in terms of infrastructures, homes or economy but most importantly, the population. Some catastrophes put the lives of people on the verge; while some are able to hide and have gotten themselves protected, some are trapped in the buildings and others harshly wounded or in grave need of medical intervention. Interveners must employ triaging through which they would know who must be on top of the priority list (“Triage,” 2000); after dealing with the critical ones, they can then proceed and gradually accommodate everyone. Address survival needs of the victims. It is unquestionable that one of the most seriously affected aspects of life after the natural disasters have occurred is the resources of survival needs such as water, food, clothing and shelter. Authorities involved in the care of the victims must address this; if there is a lack of local and direct resources for such needs, they can ask for aid from higher level of authorities such as national or international agencies. Address the emotional or psychological needs of the victims. It is a normal reaction to develop negative emotional and psychological responses as a result of a traumatic event (Robinson, 2006, p. 254). However, since each person’s ability to fix themselves and recuperate differs individually, the able persons must assist them into quickly recovering; and thus, inhibit them from dwelling on these negative thoughts and responses for a long time. They can address such needs through individual or group counseling, debriefing, defusing, and applying stress reduction and expressive techniques; all of which are aimed at effectively coping with disasters (Ehrenreich, 2001). The aid providers may also use these interventions to relieve them from the stress that their work is involved with. Informing the Public. It is one of the “musts” that the public be informed with the current events concerning important issues including natural disasters and its aftermath. One major reason for this is to show the severity of the impact that it has done to its victims and the state affected. Moreover, this can be utilized as another way to recruit help from other providers or ask for more financial and other resources that is of significance to effectively deliver crisis intervention. On one hand, informing the public every now and then about significant information is one good method in maintaining transparency and controlling spread of meaningless rumors (Lazarus & Gillespie, 1996, p. 35). Conclusion The happenings in the lives of the people affect and make up who they are. This is specifically true with natural disasters. Although some – if not most – do not like the fact of their existence, humans never really have had the choice but to accept these tragic events as part of life. However, despite the fact that these natural disasters are real and are indeed a part of life, there are still people who become gravely affected and traumatized each time they occur. This is where the importance of crisis intervention can be inserted. Besides the immediate responses that must be done in the aftermath of a natural disaster, all the stresses must be addressed by the people who are able to provide crisis intervention so that the victims can be assisted to use helpful coping mechanisms in difficult times such as this. They must do accordingly so that they may start facing the truth and start a new life after the crisis. References Crisis. (2010). In Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/crisis Ehrenreich, J. H. (2001). Coping with disasters: a guidebook to psychosocial intervention (Revised ed.). Old Westbury, NY: State University of New York Center for Psychology and Society. Epstein, K. (2006). Crisis mentality. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 4, 46. Heath, M. A., & Sheen, D. (2005). School-based crisis intervention: preparing all personnel to assist. New York: NY: The Guilford Press. Lazarus, P. J., & Gillespie, B. L. (1996, February). Critical actions in aftermath of natural disasters. School Administrator, 53, 35. Officials: Haiti death toll may be 200,000. (2010, January 18). CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/18/world/main6112054.shtml Robinson, L. R. (2006). Trauma rehabilitation. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Triage. (2000). In The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. Young, M. A. (2001). Crisis intervention. In Victim assistance: frontiers and fundamentals (Chapter II). Retrieved from http://www.trynova.org/ victiminfo/readings/CrisisIntervention.pdf Read More