2.2. Long-Term Considerations

Mental health care needs may change over the course of incident response and recovery as survivors, and the impacted community writ large move from initial stress/shock reactions to more long-term effects that can include depression, substance abuse, and PTSD and other anxiety disorders. Early post-incident behavioral and mental health interventions are designed to mitigate the increased prevalence of long-term psychiatric disorder in the affected population. Such interventions include assistance provided by behavioral health professionals, trained in disaster response, who work in shelters and medical and psychiatric facilities or perform other community outreach and educational activities to facilitate individual and community resiliency and achieve recovery outcomes. (See also KPF 7, Augment Essential Services to Achieve Recovery Outcomes.)

Take Action

Establish a disaster mental health preparedness working group to develop community objectives for disaster mental health services and procedures for emergency response. Ensure these are incorporated into the community’s overall disaster plans and incorporate the needs of survivors, responders, and the community. Efforts should include:

Finding behavioral health treatment facilities in your state
Identifying and training mental health professionals and response staff to provide counseling, triage, outreach, and education during a crisis or emergency
Training social and community leaders on how to help their groups cope, including public health nurses, school health professionals, and community support workers
Developing a triage system to connect survivors with emergency mental health services when needed
Working with Regional FEMA counterparts to learn how to take advantage of the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP)
Developing and exercising de-escalation training and techniques, including the use of harm-reduction approaches