Disaster and mental health: Responses of mental health professionals

There is a growing awareness of mental health consequences of disasters all over cr the world (World Health Organisation, 1992). This is reflected in the regular inclusion of mental health components as part of relief and rehabilitation efforts. Mental health professionals have become a part of the teams of professionals working with the disaster affected populations all over the world. There is strong evidence, based on meta-analysis, to show that disasters increase the prevalence rate of psychopathology by approximately 17-20 per cent on an average. The involvement of mental health professionals in disasters, in India, has been only in the last 20 years. Past efforts of professionals have been to raise awareness of the impact of disasters on mental health of the affected populations, among the general public and policy makers: providing direct care to the affected populations: training of primary care doctors, health workers and volunteers; support to the initiatives of voluntary organisations; and research. Mental health professionals in India have the challenge of building services mainly with the available community resources. The roles of professionals is different in the different phases of the disaster, namely, the pre-disaster phase, immediately following the disaster, during the first one month, and as part of the long-term relief and rehabilitation. In addition. they can work with the media, evaluate the ongoing programmes and report systematically on the findings and advocacy with administrators, voluntary organisations and funding agencies. These efforts not only can result in services for a large number of the population who would normally not have sought help, but also increase the awareness of the importance of mental health in the minds of the individuals, communities and planners.