Committee on Disasters, Trauma and Global Health
The Committee focuses on disaster psychiatry practice guidelines.
ABOUT OUR COMMITTEE
Our committee focuses on understanding the impact of disasters and large-scale traumatic events, including mass casualty events, on the community, and individuals within the community. We consider the impact on global health of these increasingly common and destructive events, and seek to develop useful tools and up-to-date resources to help those affected to cope well, fostering resilience and post-traumatic growth, while advocating for greater awareness, support and prevention for disaster mental health. Current projects include the Chronic Cyclical Disaster Model https://chroniccyclicaldisasters.info/ (in collaboration with Vibrant Emotional Health and Decision Point) and textbook revision of Disaster Psychiatry: Readiness, Evaluation and Treatment.
OUR STATEMENT ON THE ISRAEL-GAZA HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
“The GAP Committee on Disasters, Trauma and Global Health is deeply attuned to the myriad emotions, including sadness, heartache and anger, triggered by the ongoing violence, moral injury and trauma in the Middle East, Gaza and Israel. We seek to craft a statement which is least likely to provoke reactions and invite dialogue and suggestions....We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the Israeli and Palestinian children, adults, families and communities directly and indirectly affected by the evolving tragic events and their global ripple effects...We urge psychiatrists and allied mental health professionals to advocate for the principles of safety as a basic human right and the use of non-violent methods whenever possible and safe to resolve geopolitical differences in the course of providing more immediate support and services. Providing well-designed psychoeducation regarding intergenerational trauma, nonviolent communication, cultural humility and competency, moral injury, collective trauma and large group dynamics for different stakeholder groups is expected to have a positive impact for prevention as well as recovery...This statement of our Committee is intended to offer guidance and support for children, families and all affected, and provide resources for further inquiry."
SPOTLIGHT ON…
The Chronic Cyclical Disaster Model was developed out of a three-way collaboration between Vibrant Emotional’s Crisis Emotional Care Team, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry’s Committee on Disasters, Trauma and Global Health, and Decision Point Systems. Precipitated by the chronic, recurring disaster of the COVID19 pandemic, and superimposed natural disasters, forest fires and mass casualty events, we saw a pressing need to develop a framework for key stakeholders to make sense of and stage responses to the increasingly frequent and complex array of disaster events we face in contemporary society, superimposed atop chronic psychosocial and socioeconomic stressors.
MEMBERS
David Beckert, Edward Kantor, Sander Koyfman, Srini Pillay, Frederick Stoddard, Craig Katz, Dhruv Gupta, Andres Barkil-Oteo, Linda Chokroverty, Alisa Gutman, Giuseppi Raviola
Fellow: Vihn-Son Nguyen.
Emeritus Member: Craig Katz