Approach to Crisis Intervention in the Hurricane Response - Assignment Example

? Disaster, Crisis and Trauma Every year millions of individuals around the globe are affected by both manmade and natural disasters. The most prevalent are natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes, as well as, manmade disasters such as terrorist attacks. This paper focuses on hurricanes, which have claimed the lives of many over the past few years. The paper adopts a psychological perspective, examining aspects like the mental health impacts of hurricanes on the affected populace and possible intervention strategies. Contents Running Head: DISASTER, CRISIS AND TRAUMA 1 1 Disaster, Crisis and Trauma 1 Name: 1 Institution: 1 Abstract 2 Every year millions of individuals around the globe are affected by both manmade and natural disasters. The most prevalent are natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes, as well as, manmade disasters such as terrorist attacks. This paper focuses on hurricanes, which have claimed the lives of many over the past few years. The paper adopts a psychological perspective, examining aspects like the mental health impacts of hurricanes on the affected populace and possible intervention strategies. 2 Contents 3 Introduction 5 Description of Hurricane as Natural Disasters 5 Crisis Intervention Approach in Response to the Hurricane 6 Psychological First Aid 6 Dealing with Affected Population 6 An After-crisis Initiative 7 Ethical, Legal and Multicultural Considerations Linked to Hurricanes 7 Multicultural Considerations 7 Ethical Considerations 8 Legal Considerations 8 Potential Impact of the Hurricane 8 On Behavior 8 On Cognition 9 On Economic Development 9 On Ecosystems 10 An explanation of the global impact of Hurricanes 11 A description of the crisis intervention strategies and skills 11 Contact and engagement 11 Comfort and Safety 12 Stabilization 12 Information gathering 12 An explanation of the potential long-term psychological effects 12 Description of Potential Risk and Resilience Factors 13 Risk Factors 13 Exposure Severity 13 Gender and Family Aspects 13 Children 14 Personal Risk Factors 14 Developing Countries 14 Resilience Factors 14 Social Support 15 Self-Efficacy Coping 15 Analysis of trends and/or future research related to Hurricanes 15 Conclusion 16 References 17 Introduction A crisis refers to a breakdown or disruption of an individual’s, a family’s or an entire community’s normal functioning pattern. A crisis is characterized by three fundamental elements, that is, it presents stressful circumstances, is difficult to cope with and requires timing of interventions. Crises cannot be effectively resolved through conventional problem solving skills. This is because each is distinctive from the other and requires a flexible mitigation strategy. Crises can be traumatic for the population affected, hence the need to understand them from a psychological perspective. In this case, the principal focus is on hurricanes and their effects on impacted populace. This research paper seeks to provide insight into the role of psychological interventions, in exacerbating or lessening the trauma and negative emotional reactions caused by hurricanes. Description of Hurricane as Natural Disasters Normally, hurricanes are forecast in advance, allowing communities standing in harm’s way time to collect supplies and get ready. However, the prediction and preparation activities generate apprehension and anxiety, because even though the communities learn in advance about impending danger, they do not know the exact impact location. Once a hurricane strikes, affected individuals experience intense rain, flood waters, and extremities of wind, thunder and lightning. As a result, the victims may show acute startle reactions to even the slightest sounds in subsequent months. Further, rain or mild storms in the following months could trigger panic attacks among victims. The immediate responses to hurricanes include physical and emotional exhaustion.  In some cases, the victims suffer from survivor guilt, where they wonder why they lived and were not harmed while others died or got injured (Hoyos et al., 2006). Crisis Intervention Approach in Response to the Hurricane Management of crisis soon after a natural calamity like a hurricane is vital. This is because execution of appropriate intervention strategies would successfully avert the crises, whereas poor intervention measures would escalate the problems. In this case, the intervention strategies are outlined in the subsequent sections. Psychological First Aid The model of psychological first aid entails evaluating the mental health needs of first responders involved in actual crisis management and aiding in the victims’ recovery. These individuals include police officers, rescue workers, humanitarian relief volunteers and firefighters, among others that are in a position to help victims of the hurricane. This model encompasses several fundamental aspects like provision of peer support, education, provision of mental health support for a speedy recovery, and a broad range of care services. These initial responders must also be capable of collecting information regarding the immediate requirements of disaster victims. This implies that they must be adequately stable and clear-headed to recognize the needs of the affected populace and establish whether available resources are capable of meeting these (Callahan, 2009). Dealing with Affected Population After providing psychological first-aid to first responders, these individuals can then transfer the psychological aid to the affected population. This would involve conducting public health and safety education sessions seeking to increase every affected person’s knowledge and comprehension trauma prevalence and potential coping mechanisms. Further, psychological aid can be focused on reinforcing social bonds of friendship, family and community, instead of adopting a solitary psychological approach. Another intervention would be to foster peer and community support and to provide clinical treatment that is trauma-informed (Courtois & Gold, 2009). An After-crisis Initiative Majority of disaster response schemes, just like many mental health models, usually reinforce an individual’s perception that they cannot be the same any more. It is imperative to note that this belief is founded on the fact that, the impact of a hurricane and the consequent debilitating effects of mental instability can make one totally incapable of caring for one’s self, family or community. Therefore, it would be necessary to create a support framework to continue providing psychiatric help for hurricane victims even after the initial crisis has been averted. This would be necessary to enable the affected population to deal with feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, among other pre-existing issues like crime and substance abuse, which increase after a disaster. Ethical, Legal and Multicultural Considerations Linked to Hurricanes Multicultural Considerations Just like in most other topics, cultural considerations cannot be overlooked when managing crises in the event of natural disasters like hurricanes. This is because; many diverse individuals live in any particular setting affected by a hurricane. These people have different cultural beliefs and practices, which extensively determine the social context within which they define their lives and problems affecting them. For instance, there are victims that are staunch in terms of religiosity, while on the other side of the spectrum, there could be a first responder who doesn’t uphold any religious beliefs. Another example could be that of racial diversity and potential bias. These cultural differences should not be allowed to interfere with the crisis management process. First responders and other volunteers must be trained beforehand to be impartial when it comes to culture differentiating aspects like religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, race and gender, among other sensitive issues (Brown, 2009). Ethical Considerations It is important to note that assistance in the aftermath of a hurricane is usually delivered by different governmental, non-governmental, and profit organizations. These entities operate using their own philosophical values and assumptions thus increasing chances for conflict, inconsistency and coordination inadequacy in delivery of services. Further, some ways of interacting with hurricane survivors could be harmful or may end up producing anger, frustration, disappointment and desperation among survivors. These incidents can be overcome by ensuring that all stakeholders strive to sustain the three key ethical theories of duty, virtue and sustenance of the common good (Soliman & Rogge, 2002). Legal Considerations There are several legal implications associated with crisis management after a hurricane. For instance, the survivors have a right to compensation by insurance companies, as well as, a right to physical security as they try to rebuild their lives. Therefore, it would be necessary to advocate for coordinated involvement of local, state and federal legal frameworks, in order to ensure that the survivors’ legal rights are protected and met effectively. It would also be necessary to ensure that relevant legal bodies play their role to protect victims from exploitation or being sidelined by malicious insurance companies (Soliman & Rogge, 2002). Potential Impact of the Hurricane On Behavior Victims of a hurricane exhibit several behavioral changes after this traumatic disaster. For instance, their sleep patterns may be completely altered with some suffering long periods without sleep. Other survivors show changed feeding habits such as limited eating due to total loss of appetite, while others may opt to stress feed where they overeat to cope with emotional stress. Another possible ritualistic behavior adopted by hurricane trauma victims is substance abuse. However, in majority of behavior alteration cases, the observed changes are limited and act as a transition from the traumatic state to an improvement phase. It is, therefore, important for hurricane survivors to undergo psychiatric evaluation and crisis counseling. Population sections that require special attention paid to their behavior include the elderly, children, ethnic and racial minorities, and families that lost loved ones in the disaster. The emergency workforce also requires attention since they work for long without rest and witness horrific sights, yet they are expected to provide emotional support without buckling under the immense pressure. Close behavioral observation of these categories of people and psychological help would aid in avoiding later problems. On Cognition Hurricanes have significant impacts on the survivors’ cognition or psychological state. For instance, there could be changes in the way victims perceive risk. They could continue believing that there is a likelihood of a repeat occurrence of the disaster and additional personal consequences. The victims also suffer from enhanced hazard intrusiveness, where they constantly think and discuss about hurricanes. These beliefs usually hamper the victims’ ability to adopt hazard protection measures, which would reduce their susceptibility to potential disasters in the future (Jones et al., 2001). On Economic Development One of the primary economic setbacks caused by hurricanes is damage of property damage. The property losses incurred can be valued based on the cost of replacement or repair. The eventual economic effect of a hurricane depends on the nature of the destroyed assets. Loss of assets due to failure to replace them, results in reduced investment or consumption, which is another significant economic impact. Other than direct losses like property damage and reduced investment, there are also indirect economic losses. These arise from the reciprocal relationship between different community subunits. For instance, the connections that a business venture has with the community involve provision of money to workers, infrastructure and suppliers in return for inputs like labor, transportation, telecommunications and materials, among others. These connections are usually severed by hurricanes thus inhibiting development (Zwiebach, L., Rhodes, J., & Roemer, L. (2010).). On Ecosystems The ecosystem forms an imperative entity in the times of disaster. This is because any effect on the environment has detrimental effects in the future. In addition to homes, individuals and community impacts hurricanes also have a deep outcome on the environment. This is especially common in the coastal regions and the estuarine. Since hurricanes generate very strong winds, there is a high chance that they can completely defoliate forests as well as, cause structural alterations in the wooded ecosystems. On the other hand, animals are either killed by hurricanes or indirectly impacted by changing their habitats in addition to food availability which can be caused by the high storm, winds, intense rainfall and surge. There is a high chance that endangered species will get dramatic impact, by further reducing their population by the hurricanes. For instance, in 1989, the Puerto Rican Parrot was abridged to half by Hurricane Hugo. It is also evident that hurricanes do not only impact animals. The storm surges, as well as, the dangerous waves usually move hefty amounts of sand which eventually restructure the coastal landscape. This means that by changing environmental surroundings at the coastal regions, hurricanes usually cause cascades of indirect and direct ecological effects which range from instant to long-term. Since hurricanes are different in terms of size, forward speed, precipitation, and intensity there are diverse environmental changes that are cause by this natural disaster (Hoyos et al., 2006). An explanation of the global impact of Hurricanes Hurricanes do not only impact the local environment, but they also have detrimental effects on the national, as well as, global settings. There are diverse macroeconomic impacts in the local markets like high energy prices, utility bills and other basic effects. Overall there is an increase in inflation since consumer price rates double compared to the other times in the year, as well as, increase in building materials and transportation costs. Globally, the impacts experienced are mainly on oil prices. Consequently, the financial markets are affected by the storm which destabilizes the impact of fast growing organizations. There is an immense loss in the global insurance and reinsurance organizations which is a big issue in the share market. A description of the crisis intervention strategies and skills During hurricanes there is need to have intervention strategies put in place. This is enhanced by having the necessary skills to that will assist in dealing with the traumatic event. Some f the strategies and skills to be used during this period are discussed herein. Contact and engagement There is need to respond to contacts that are initiated by survivors. This should be done with patience and humility and compassion especially for the people who are in areas that cannot be reached. Comfort and Safety There is need to provide comfort to the people that have been affected by the hurricanes. Therefore, there is need to enhance instant, as well as, ongoing safety measures by providing emotional and physical comfort. Stabilization There is need to have skills that will enable one to calmly deal with emotional and disoriented survivors. In many cases, a person with psychological training will be able to deal with such people and assist them to accept and deal with issues the way they appear. Information gathering The main goal of information gathering is identifying the immediate concerns and needs for the people affected by the hurricane. This will enable the people to know how the victims will be assisted in terms of physical and emotional issues. An explanation of the potential long-term psychological effects There are immense psychological effects caused by hurricanes. Physical consequences of displacement, extensive property loss, floods, water, and power loss have the ability to cause long-term psychological effects on the victims. It is evident that people that have experienced prior hurricane related events have pre-existing symptoms of psychological distress. Hurricane victims have high risks of mental health issues like transcrisis and PTSD for numerous years to come. The extent of the damage is widespread to thousands of individuals that experienced displacement from families and homes. These psychological aspects mean that many individuals got exposed to some amount of adversity, and this usually puts them at a risk of such mental health issues both instantly and in the long run. Hurricanes survivors usually struggle to cope with their shattered lives, and when the reality of how things have changed may affect them psychologically. In many cases, they may be dealing well with the disaster in the early stages because of the adrenaline of the current events but after the events are over, it can be harder for them to cope with their daily lives. They may experience sleep deprivation and high anxiety levels. They are also likely to experience depression, as well as, deep despair because of the losses incurred. This may lead to development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a long term psychological effect (Shoaf & Rottman, 2000). Description of Potential Risk and Resilience Factors Risk Factors The following aspects indicate individuals at risk after a hurricane and how it affects their recovery. Exposure Severity The severity of exposure by the hurricane highly relates to the risk of mental problems in the future. It is evident that the community, as well as, an individual plays a vital role in the recovery of such an individual. For people that experienced direct impact by the disaster, and those that were in close contact with them, will be impacted more than those that had had indirect impacts. The people that experienced the disaster directly will take a long time to recover since hurricanes lead to long-term psychological effects (Paxson et al., 2012). Gender and Family Aspects In many cases, the most affected people after a hurricane are girls or women or girls than men or boys. There is an increased in stress levels id there are children in the home. This therefore increases stressfulness in disaster recovery. There is an increase in marital stress after hurricanes (Paxson et al., 2012). Children Children take a long time to recover compared to adults. This is because they usually have to change schools and loose friends in their previous neighborhood. Some of the children do not understand that parents do not have any kind of control over the issue (Paxson et al., 2012). Personal Risk Factors In many cases, pre-disaster effects, psychological stressors and secondary resources are imperative in determining recovery. In some cases, factors like grief, self injuries and injuries on family members, panic, threat on life, disaster, horror and family separation may have adverse psychological outcomes. Developing Countries It is evident that disasters taking place in developing countries usually cause adverse mental health issues than in developed countries. Hurricanes have severe effects on people that cannot have assistance from the governments and especially those that have low income will have immense psychological issues. The recovery from such a trauma may take a very long time compared to people in developed nations. Resilience Factors It is natural to think that human resilience encourage large numbers of people will naturally recover from any kind disasters like a hurricane after a specific period time and move. This means that they will not experience any kind of mental health problems. Therefore, the factors discussed below increase resilience after a disaster (Blocher, 2000). Social Support Social support comprises one of the major ingredients of dealing with disaster recovery. This is because; it depicts facilitation of limitation of psychological distress after a hurricane. Social connectedness has the potential to increase opportunities to gain knowledge that is essential to recovery after a hurricane. Additionally, it assists in provision of opportunities for social support activities, like practical problem solving, emotional comprehension and acceptance, by encouraging the victims to share about their traumatic experiences (Blocher, 2000). Self-Efficacy Coping In case of a disaster, it has been found that steady support has worked better in having significant psychological outcomes after a hurricane. When people feel that they have the capability to cope with issue no matter the outcomes, they usually do better and recover faster than the rest of the victims (Blocher, 2000). Analysis of trends and/or future research related to Hurricanes There are trends that are closely linked to the increase in hurricanes especially the increase in global warming. There are also theories that have been computer simulated in order to indicate how global warming generates increase in storm intensity. However, there is less information on the way people should anticipate the occurrence of the disaster in order to avoid immense casualties in regions like Atlantic and Caribbean basins. Nevertheless, researchers should also focus more on how to deal with after effects of hurricanes to avoid many people getting long term effects (Hoyos et al., 2006). Conclusion The public health outcomes of hurricanes are complex. Hurricanes directly affect individuals’ mental health, as well as, increasing mortality and morbidity associated with natural disasters. Therefore, it is imperative for the government and other related institutions to formulate long lasting policies that will assist in dealing with the issue. Additionally, people should be educated on how to behave during such an occurrence. This is because I will assist in reducing the number of deaths and long term traumas that are related to hurricanes. References Shoaf, K & Rottman J. (2000). Public Health of Disasters. Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 6, 58-63. Jones, T., Fray, R., Cunningham, D., & Kaiser, L. (2001). The psychological effects of hurricane Andrew on ethnic minority and Caucasian children and adolescents: A case study. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7, 103-108. Blocher, D. H. (2000). Counseling: A developmental approach (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Brown, L. (2009). Cultural competence in trauma therapy: Beyond the flashback. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Callahan, J. (2009). Emergency intervention and crisis intervention. In P. M. Kleespies (Ed.), Behavioral emergencies: An evidence-based resource for evaluating and managing risk of suicide, violence, and victimization (13–32). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 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