Newswise — Bethesda, MD – In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact, the Uniformed Services University (USU) Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) has developed a series of vital mental health resources aimed at helping individuals, families, healthcare professionals, first responders and community leaders navigate the emotional aftermath of the disaster. These resources offer practical guidance to foster resilience, address trauma, and promote recovery across affected populations.
CSTS's comprehensive toolkit includes free, interactive online training and action-oriented fact sheets tailored to meet the needs of various groups. Specific resources focus on helping families, supporting healthcare workers, and guiding community leaders through effective disaster response.
Key resources include:
- For Families: Guidance on helping children and communities recover after disasters.
- For Healthcare Workers: Strategies for maintaining the well-being of first responders, emergency workers, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions.
- For Leaders: Expert advice on grief leadership, crisis communication, and managing workplace recovery after a disaster.
These resources also emphasize the importance of Psychological First Aid in shelters and evacuation centers to support mental well-being, and highlight the unique challenges faced by vulnerable populations, such as children, individuals with disabilities, and marginalized groups.
"Hurricane Helene has caused extraordinary damage, injury, death, and disruption, as well as distress for individuals and communities that is experienced far beyond the geographic boundaries of the event, and often persists long after the acute disaster ends. Community leaders, healthcare professionals, first responders and emergency workers, and other community members can protect mental health and foster resilience through actions that promote the five essential elements of Psychological First Aid, including enhancing a sense of safety, calming, connectedness, efficacy, and hope,” says Dr. Joshua Morganstein, deputy director of CSTS and professor of psychiatry at USU. “Our brief, easy to use, action-oriented resources help people know what actions to take, and some to avoid, to protect themselves and those around them in the wake of Hurricane Helene and other disasters."
To access the full set of resources and learn more, visit the CSTS Hurricane Helene Mental Health Resource page at: https://www.cstsonline.org/resources/resource-master-list/202409-hurricane-helene-disaster-mental-health-response-and-recovery-resources
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About the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences: The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the nation’s federal health sciences university and the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. USU also has graduate programs in oral biology, biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research. The University's research program covers a wide range of areas important to both the military and public health. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.edu.
About the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress: The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is one of the nation’s oldest and most highly regarded, academic-based organizations dedicated to advancing trauma-informed knowledge, leadership and methodologies. The Center’s work addresses a wide scope of trauma exposure from the consequences of combat, operations other than war, terrorism, natural and humanmade disasters, and public health threats. For more information, visit cstsonline.org.
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