Emotional Trauma Care in Houston
Sep. 7th, 2017 01:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis is the first example I've seen locally of emotional trauma care, rather than just emotional first aid. There's a Psychotrauma Unit out of Israel coming to help Houston in the wake of hurricane flooding. It's a volunteer service, but working at professional level: "The unit’s 200 or so members include medics, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers who are trained by some of Israel’s leading experts on the psychology of crises."
That's a useful distinction between emotional first aid, which most people can learn; and emotional trauma care, which requires more advanced training. The idea is to provide support that reduces the risk of permanent injury, teach coping skills to help people through a crisis, and let them know what symptoms mean trouble and it would be advisable to seek further help. I suspect that a good listener and some practical resources will knock down the rate of PTSD just because the keystone risk factor is feeling helpless; if you can stop that, it's like cooling a burn, it slows or halts the damage rate.
Tikkun olam, Israel, today you're doing it right.
That's a useful distinction between emotional first aid, which most people can learn; and emotional trauma care, which requires more advanced training. The idea is to provide support that reduces the risk of permanent injury, teach coping skills to help people through a crisis, and let them know what symptoms mean trouble and it would be advisable to seek further help. I suspect that a good listener and some practical resources will knock down the rate of PTSD just because the keystone risk factor is feeling helpless; if you can stop that, it's like cooling a burn, it slows or halts the damage rate.
Tikkun olam, Israel, today you're doing it right.
