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Mental health response to community disasters: A fact sheet for disaster mental health planners, first responders, and providers

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Resource Type: Documents and Publications

Focus Population: Behavioral Health Leaders, Peers

Topics: Behavioral Health Organizational Guidance Docs, Crisis Response System, Mental Health Treatment, Mobile Crisis Unit, Peer Support, Trauma-informed

This fact sheet can be used by anyone preparing for or responding to the mental health consequences of disasters. It discusses general principles for disaster mental health response, including the importance of identifying survivors with psychiatric disorders and providing them treatment. It also introduces frameworks for disaster mental health response, and case identification for posttraumatic stress disorder, the most common psychiatric disorder after disasters.