Being There When It Counts

Will You Be There When it Counts? "Being There When It Counts" is what Disaster Mental Health Services (DMHS) teams try hardest to achieve before, during and following disasters, critical incidents, crises, and terrorist activities. Although a relatively new field, these teams have quickly become an integral part of disaster and critical incident preparedness, mitigation, response, and follow-up. DMHS began with Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and Critical Incident Stress Management. In order to continue to grow and meet identified needs, both continued development as well as focused research. Research will help identify how Mental Health Services can best be utilized as well as how relevant changes need to be made in practice. Networking and sharing experiences can also help develop resources. The 8th Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference was held Nov. 7-9, 2009 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This volume highlights key papers from presenters. Praise for The Proceedings of the Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference "...A must have for first responders and mental health professionals. Addressing the needs of people who work in these fields is critical. The better trained they are to be emotionally equipped for disasters, the better they can help others. I think that the pages of information covered in this book will be some of the most important information needed by people in this field today." --Page Lovitt, Reader Views "This compilation of papers deals with people's reactions to a wide variety of disasters, including not only terror and Hurricane Katrina, but child abuse and the trauma suffered by families of service members. Taken together, the papers are fascinating. The "Proceedings of the 5th Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference" provides insight into the nature of the individual's response to terror and disaster. They should be interesting reading for everyone who either indirectly or directly has been affected." --Linda Benninghoff, author of Departures The Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Institute Press "Learning from the past and planning for the future" http://www.rmrinstitute.org An Imprint of Loving Healing Press. PSY022040 Psychology : Psychopathology - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder SOC040000 Social Science : Disasters & Disaster Relief MED003010 Medical : Allied Health Services - Emergency Medical Services