Recent years have seen an extraordinary number of major disasters,
critical incidents and other events that have had major impacts on our
world. The 2004 tsunami, hurricanes Rita and Katrina, and the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan affect millions of lives daily. Potential events
such as Avian Flu pandemic, global warming and the increasing threats of
spreading unrest in the Middle East are concerns that weigh heavily on
us all.
November 8-11, 2006, the Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health
Institute held their Annual four-day Disaster Mental Health Conference.
The theme of the conference was "TAKING CHARGE IN TROUBLED TIMES:
Response, Resilience, Recovery and Follow-up." This edition contains
the major papers presented at the conference and summaries of additional
presentations. They address some of the major crisis events confronting
our societies in recent years, namely, large disasters such as
hurricanes Katrina and Rita; case studies such as Abu Ghraib, and
traumatic events such as a night club suicide bombing, the role of
cultural sensitivity and ethics in disaster settings, resilience, and
the importance of planning, education and taking care of our first
responders and mental health professionals. An additional concern with
information includes information about preparation of communities and
families for deployment and return of military personnel. The importance
of planning for how mental health personnel can respond in the event of
an Avian Flu Pandemic is also discussed. Presenters are drawn from
researchers and responders from Wyoming, the United States, and the
United Kingdom.
http: //www.rmrinstitute.org
The Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Institute is a 501(c)3
Non-profit Organization
