Abstract
Attention to the mental health facets of disaster-preparedness and trauma-response teams has increased considerably over the past decade. As family therapists take part in these efforts, they bring with them a worldview that adds valuable contributions to the nature in which fieldwork is conducted and the manners in which interdisciplinary teams function on the ground. In this article, we present how systems thinking sensitizes trauma workers to a variety of clinical presentations and biopsychosocial complexities inherent in this work. We describe common clinical- and practice-related challenges, alongside practical strategies for effectively dealing with these challenges. We draw upon our experiences as family therapists trained in the field of trauma, and our work as field responders, supervisors and team leaders across a variety of local and large-scale disaster events and contexts.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 43-57 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Family Therapy |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2010 |
Keywords
- Disaster
- Disaster relief
- Disaster response
- Family therapy
- Family therapy in trauma
- Mental health in fieldwork
- Trauma
- Trauma-response teams