STAT

Opinion: Psychological first aid must be part of disaster relief

Psychological first aid — a strategy for addressing mental or emotional distress — should be an integral part of disaster relief efforts, not an afterthought.
Damaged houses on the hillsides in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, more than a week after Hurricane Irma made landfall.

My grandmother was filled with grief as she told me by phone about life on the island of St. Thomas after Hurricanes Irma and Maria had blasted through it. “Tears keep running from my eyes uncontrollably because everyone on the island is suffering,” she lamented, then paused, too sad to continue. I could picture her in her car charging her cellphone — the engine idling in the background. The decades-old mango tree that I had climbed as a child was now uprooted and stripped of all its leaves; the vibrant tropical landscape replaced by

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from STAT

STAT2 min read
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About CVS And Humira Biosimilars, Schumer’s Broken Insulin Promise, And More
New prescriptions for biosimilar versions of Humira, one of the best-selling drugs in the U.S., surged to 36% from just 5% during the first week of April.
STAT2 min read
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About AstraZeneca CEO Pay, Alternatives To WuXi And More
And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans.…
STAT1 min readAmerican Government
Opinion: As A Rule, Rape Exceptions For Abortion Don’t Work
Abortion opponents often say they want to support survivors of rape. But abortion bans do the opposite, and no fake "rape exception" is going to change that.

Related Books & Audiobooks