The Impact of Katrina: Shedding Light on Things Forgotten

Volunteering on a disaster mental health team to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina can affect a psychologist in a number of ways that cannot be known until after the experience has taken place. Such an event will have a unique impact based on who the person is, on his or her life experience, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Professional psychology, research and practice research and practice, 2008-02, Vol.39 (1), p.31-36
Main Author: Levy, Michael S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crisis Intervention
Emergency Services
Human
Hurricanes
Impact analysis
Mental Health
Mental health care
Mental Health Services
Natural Disasters
Professional development
Psychologists
Volunteers
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Summary:Volunteering on a disaster mental health team to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina can affect a psychologist in a number of ways that cannot be known until after the experience has taken place. Such an event will have a unique impact based on who the person is, on his or her life experience, and on what activities he or she conducted. This article shares the impact this experience has had on a psychologist who had never before been involved in a disaster mental health effort. The focus is on how this experience has helped to shape and influence the author's present clinical work, both as a practitioner and program administrator. Rather than learning anything completely novel or foreign, instead, this experience has shed light on things known but that were in some ways forgotten or less fully appreciated.
ISSN:0735-7028
1939-1323
DOI:10.1037/0735-7028.39.1.31