Recovery from mass trauma

“The recent 9.0-magnitude earthquake in Japan and the devastating tsunami that followed are likely to lead to widespread mental health problems in survivors”, writes Professor of Psychiatry and trauma expert, Metin Basoglu, in his blog on Mass Trauma, Human Rights & Mental Health. Based on his research with earthquake survivors in Turkey, Professor Basoglu estimates that more than 50% of people with high levels of exposure to traumatic events may require treatment. Such a high rate of exposure, he notes, “can be attributed to mainly 3 types of stressor events experienced by the Japanese people: (1) earthquake tremors, including the initial major shock and the aftershocks, (2) the devastating impact of the tsunami, and (3) threat of exposure to radiation from damaged nuclear plants.” Basoglu also points to possible economic, social and political consequences if traumatic stress reactions are left untreated. For a more detailed assessment of the psychological toll of the disaster in Japan, see Professor Basoglu’s blog on Mass Trauma, Human Rights & Mental Health.

In a recently published book – A Mental Healthcare Model for Mass Trauma Survivors: Control–Focused Behavioral Treatment of Earthquake, War, and Torture Trauma – Martin Basoglu and Ebru Salcioglu bring together 20 years of experience with disaster survivors. The volume offers an evidence-based mental health care model for mass trauma survivors. Critically, the book not only contains a treatment delivery manual for professional and lay therapists but also a highly structured self-help manual designed to help survivors administer the treatment by themselves.

 

Metin Basoglu, MD, PhD is Professor of Psychiatry / Head of Trauma Studies at the Institute of Psychiatry of King’s College London and Director of the Istanbul Center for Behavior Research and Therapy (ICBRT / DABATEM) in Turkey.

Thomas Bundschuh