Paper Example: Victims of a Traumatic Disaster

It is factual that individuals who experience tragic events require support in regards to their mental health. The victims are affected either directly or indirectly. The indirect effect, in this case, includes losing a family member/members due to an act of terrorism. There are several programs put in place to support victims of terror attacks. Two of the programs include Crisis Counseling Program which is supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA and the Traumatic Stress Research Program.

FEMA integrates the Crisis Counseling Program as an additional program that operates in the U.S. and the neighboring countries. The presence of the program is as per Section 416 of the 1974 Act, Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act that authorizes FEMA to issue mental health services and training programs to areas affected by disasters. FEMA works with other bodies such as the Emergency Mental Health and Traumatic Stress Services Branch through agreements regarding consultations, technical support, training programs for mental health personnel, oversight of programs and administration of grants. The programs focus on providing support to communities and people recuperating from disaster influenced by natural or human sources. The Crisis Counseling Program provides psycho-educational and community-based services. The program includes short-term intermediations methods that offer counseling services to the survivors to comprehend and accept their situations and alleviate their stress and depressions. The intervention programs also support the victims in evaluating the options associated with their recovery, establishing and promoting the coping techniques, providing the victims with emotional support, in addition to encouraging the victims to associate with individuals and agencies that assist in the recuperation process (Crisis Counseling Assistance & Training Program, 2017).

The services provided by the agency to support its mission include; individual counselling during crisis, providing information and support on the available recuperating services, group counselling for survivors for the purpose of assisting the survivors to cope with a crisis, public education, community networking that involves working with other agencies to support the victims, issuing referrals, making media announcements and publishing educational material for the public and mental health personnel (Crisis Counseling Assistance & Training Program, 2017).

The Traumatic Stress Research Program focuses on conducting studies regarding psychopathology in regards to traumatic pressures. The areas of study include cognitive, behavioral, neurobiological and other psychopathology areas which are affected or rather triggered by traumatic events. The results from the studies are used to develop intervention programs used in treating and assisting victims of traumatic events. The treatment also includes victims who are at risk of suffering from trauma (NIMH, 2017).

The Traumatic Stress Research Program also provides support research associated with health care systems and clinical practices in regards to mass violence and mental strain. It also engages in transnational studies that involve genomic, basic and clinical analyses on the implications of traumatic events to the mental health of individuals. The transnational studies focus on illuminating the causes, pathophysiology, and characteristics of trauma (NIMH, 2017).

As stated earlier, two programs used in the provision of services to victims of traumatic events include Crisis Counseling Program which is supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA and the Traumatic Stress Research Program. Crisis Counseling Program mission is centered on providing mental care to survivors of traumatic events. The Traumatic Stress Research Program focuses on conducting studies regarding psychopathology in regards to traumatic pressures. Both programs, despite having different operations, focus on intervention programs that can be used to manage trauma.

References

Crisis Counseling Assistance & Training Program. (2017). Crisis Counseling Assistance & Training Program | FEMA.gov. Fema.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2017, from https://www.fema.gov/recovery-directorate/crisis-counseling-assistance-training-program

NIMH. (2017). NIMH Traumatic Stress Research Program. Nimh.nih.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2017, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dtr/traumatic-stress-research-and-dimensional-measurement-and-intervention-program/index.shtml