Handbook of International Disaster Psychology (Contemporary Psychology)

"Disaster psychology is a relatively new discipline focusing on culturally relevant, community-based crisis intervention and stress reduction for survivors. This timely handbook has a surprising focus, especially in the first volume. Rather than serving as a clinical work, this multivolume set emphasizes program design and evaluation, coordination of humanitarian organizations, rapid response, assessment of needs, and cultural sensitivity to groups. Contributors write about the aftermath of disaster as a public health problem requiring psychosocial programming. Additionally, they discuss key issues such as the ethics of doing research at a disaster site, or the blurring of military and humanitarian operations and subsequent mortal threats to relief workers. They describe from personal experience how to implement programs for survivors (volume 2), how to assist refugees (volume 3), and how to help people with special needs, such as child soldiers, sexually abused women, and victims of torture (volume 4). A refrain throughout is that psychological distress after disaster is a normal response to abnormal events, and that suffering may be experienced collectively rather than individually….Beyond psychology, this handbook is appropriate for human rights, public health, disaster preparedness, public policy, and social work collections….Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates and beyond." - Choice

"The emerging field of international disaster psychology is dedicated to the conduct of research and the planning of programs and projects to improve the psychological and emotional well being of people affected by disasters. In this four-volume set, Reyes and Jacobs have solicited contributions from authors involved in developing programs and projects." - SciTech Book News

"[R]eaders involved in the psychological wellbeing of disaster survivors will find the firsthand accounts inspirational and instructive." - Foreword This Week

Gilbert Reyes is Associate Dean for Clinical Training at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara. He has been called to assist people trying to recover mental health after disasters, including the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, and numerous hurricane and disaster sites. He has been a consultant to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and, in 2002, co-authored that organization's training manual for community-based psychological support. He lectures nationally on disaster mental health intervention.

Gerard A. Jacobs is Director of the Disaster Mental Health Institute and a Professor of Psychology at the University of South Dakota. He is active in field work, training, program development and consultation nationally and internationally for the Red Cross and the American Psychological Association. He is co-author of the WHO Tool for the Rapid Assessment of Mental Health (2001). A consultant to the World Health Organization from 1999 to 2002, he has worked at disaster sites as varied as the bombing of the U.S. Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 to the deadly earthquake in India in 2001. He was the Red Cross point person on site after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Jacobs served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Responding to the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism. He works with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in psychological support training and program development.