The Psyche of Disaster Victims

There is a whole different branch of medicine known as trauma medicine, which focuses on treating victims of trauma. This is because in a trauma situation, different medical protocols are applied and different kind of training is needed. Similarly, the psychology of trauma patients has to be dealt with differently as well. Trauma psychology focuses on the mechanisms needed for individuals to build their internal strengths so that they can cope with external stimuli without going into a panicked state. The most common consequence of a disaster on victims, emotionally, is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; a disorder characterized by flashbacks of the event, feelings of dissociation, fear, insecurity. There are other disorders as well, but they have been less researched. Another important thing that affects the emotional and psychological consequences of a disaster is the vulnerability or predisposition of the individual.

If you take a look at the history of psychology, we will discover that psychology has, since its origins, concerned itself with the impact of traumas and such disasters and their effects on emotional functioning of an individual. Whereas trauma fields in other professions have just come together, psychology has long since been dealing with it. Through research it has been seen that stress plays a major role in the development of psychopathology in community psychology. From a psychological perspective, disasters can be viewed as anything; from an event in a war to the war itself. Once we are clearly able to define disasters, acute or chronic, will we be able to study their psychology more effectively.

Research in disaster psychology has shown that almost 68 percent of individuals faced with trauma experience PTSD, some suffer from depression and others also develop anxiety. Such researches help psychologists develop insight into how to treat patients who have dealt with severe trauma and what psychological constructs are affected the most by trauma. Whereas immediate relief needs to be provided by a relief supplier, immediate psychological help is also imperative. The problem arises when it comes to organized psychological help and rehabilitation. While there are many relief providing organizations throughout the world that organize and distribute immediate relief items to people in need, there are not a lot of organizations providing help in psychological trauma, even given psychology's background in trauma.

The work that is actively being done in trauma psychology involves the effort of the bigger associations like the American Psychological Association that work on making trauma psychology a more widely practiced field. One of their goals is to train professionals in this matter and to also ensure that the help given is accessible to everyone.  Currently the APA has a Disaster Resource Network, which already has around 2,500 trained psychologists that deal with preparing, responsiveness and recovery activities for disaster victims. This is just one network, but if this were to be expanded in every country or ‘danger' zone, it could immensely help disaster victims the way UNHCR helps them. Whereas a relief supplier is easier to find, a psychological trauma professional is just as important to look for.