State University of New York at New Paltz

PSY456-01: Disaster Psychology, Spring 2011

Mondays & Thursdays, 3:05 to 4:20, Humanities 312

As individuals we cannot afford the multiple costs of illness or disaster, we cannot get so far out of phase with the concert scored for the lives we all lead together. Because we lean so heavily on one another, whether we deliberately choose to or not, we lust after an answer to the accidents of life. And if this insurance is not forthcoming, we insist at the least that our fellows rally and be concerned if catastrophe occurs. - R.N. Wilson (1962), Man and Society in Disaster
_______________________________________________________________________ Instructor: Karla Vermeulen, Ph.D. Office hours: Wednesdays 3:00 - 4:30, Thursdays 1:00 - 3:00, or by appointment Office location: JFT 214 Email: vermeulk@newpaltz.edu

Course Objectives: 1. Define disasters and disaster mental health, and describe the development of the field. 2. Describe the psychological impact of disasters and trauma, including typical reactions and severe reactions such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. 3. Describe short- and long-term interventions to assist disaster survivors. 4. Discuss vicarious traumatization, self-care, and other issues affecting disaster mental health helpers. 5. Provide training and credentials from the American Red Cross, which may lead to qualifications to respond to disasters as volunteers under the auspices of the Red Cross.

Please be aware that some content that will be included in the course may be disturbing to you. If you feel troubled by the material, please contact the instructor and/or the Psychological Counseling Center, 257-2920.

Course Expectations: Grades will be based on one group presentation (20%), one paper (20%), and three noncumulative exams, each worth 20%. The final exam will be cumulative, and either can serve as a makeup or can replace the lowest of the first three exam grades. Because of this, no make-up exams will be given during the semester. Exams will include multiple choice and essay questions. They will include material covered in class but not in the readings as well as material covered in readings but not discussed in class in other words, to do well you need to attend class AND complete all reading assignments. For the presentation, each group of 4-6 students will select a historic disaster from a list that will be provided, research the details of that disaster, and present on the relevant characteristics that would be expected to influence survivors reactions. For the paper, each student will work individually to develop a plan for the kind of mental health interventions you would offer if you were involved in responding to that same event. Papers should be about 4-6 pages double-spaced. We will discuss the presentation and paper in more detail closer to the due dates. Class participation is strongly encouraged and may earn extra credit at the instructors discretion!

Attendance Policy: Attendance at both Red Cross training sessions is mandatory since certification requires attendance. In the case of an unavoidable absence, you will be expected to make arrangements with the Ulster County Red Cross to attend the course at a different location. Attendance at all other classes is expected. Slides will be posted on Blackboard after each class, but far more detail will be discussed in class than is included on the slides, so regular attendance and note taking is strongly recommended. In the case of any absence, you are responsible for obtaining the missed information from another student.

Class Cancellations: If it is necessary to cancel class due to weather or other unavoidable circumstances, youll be emailed at your New Paltz address as early as possible. Accommodations: Students with documented physical, learning, psychological, and other disabilities are entitled to receive reasonable accommodations. If you need classroom or testing accommodations, please contact the Disability Resource Center (SUB 210, 257-3020). The Disability Resource Center will provide forms verifying the need for accommodation. As soon as the instructor receives the form, you will be provided with the appropriate accommodations. Students are encouraged to request accommodations as close to the beginning of the semester as possible.

Other Policies: Any student caught cheating on an exam will automatically fail that exam and, perhaps, the

course. Any student caught plagiarizing that is, quoting another authors words directly or rewording another authors ideas without proper attribution will fail the paper assignment and, perhaps, the course. In addition, anyone who cheats or plagiarizes will have his or her name reported to the coordinator of campus judicial affairs. It is WAY too easy to unintentionally plagiarize by copying an online resource and pasting it without proper attribution so be extremely careful to uphold academic ethical standards. Please turn off phones, PDAs, iPods, and other devices unless youve cleared it with me in advance (for instance, you need to be reachable in an emergency). Respect your fellow students and dont text in class its highly distracting to everyone around you!

Required Textbook: Disaster Mental Health: Theory and Practice by James Halpern and Mary Tramontin. (2007). Thomson-Brooks/Cole.

Other required readings will be available on Blackboard unless otherwise noted (more may be added): Alvarez, L. (2008, August 26). Home from war, veterans say head injuries go unrecognized, New York Times. Beiser, V. (April 19, 2010). Organizing Armageddon: What we learned from the Haiti earthquake. Wired Magazine. NOT on Blackboard - download from: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/04/ff_haiti/all/1 Bonanno, G.A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59, 20-28. Halpern, S. (May 19, 2008). Virtual Iraq: Using simulation to treat a new generation of traumatized veterans. The New Yorker Magazine. Downloaded from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/19/080519. Lord, J.H.; Hook, M.; & English, S. (2003). Different faiths, different perceptions of public tragedy. In M. Lattanzi-Licht & K.J. Doka (Eds.), Living with grief: Coping with public tragedy, pp. 91-107. New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Date

Disaster Psychology Spring 2011 Schedule (subject to change) Topic Section I: Background

Readings

Monday, 1/24 Thursday, 1/27 Monday, 1/31 Thursday, 2/3 Monday, 2/7 Thursday, 2/10

Course Overview Introduction to disaster psychology Overview of disaster characteristics History of disaster mental health Typical reactions to disasters Guest speaker: Dr. Larry McGlinn, Prof. of Geography, on perceptions of hazards Video: When the Levees Broke, part 1 EXAM 1 Chapter 1, Beiser (2010) Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Monday, 2/14 Thursday, 2/17

Section II: Mental Health Issues Monday, 2/21 Thursday, 2/24 Monday, 2/28 Thursday, 3/3 Monday, 3/7 ARC Course: Disaster Services: An Overview, part 1 Extreme reactions to disasters (PTSD, ASD) Vulnerable populations Vulnerable populations cont'd, resilience factors Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Bonnano (2004)

Guest speaker: Dr. Lewis Brownstein, Prof. of International Relations, on the psychology of terrorism International and cross-cultural issues Lord, Hook, & English

Thursday, 3/10 Monday, 3/14 Thursday, 3/17

ARC Course: Disaster Services: An Overview, part I1 Grief, loss, and mourning rituals Spring break - no class! Alvarez (2008), Halpern (2008)

Mon-Thurs, 3-21 & 3-24 Monday, 3/28

Traumatic responses and mental health interventions for the military EXAM 2

Thursday, 3/31

Section III: Mental Health Interventions Monday, 4/4 Thursday, 4/7 Monday, 4/11 Thursday, 4/14 Grief, loss, and mourning rituals Attend IDMH Conference (details to be provided) Psychological First Aid Self-care, Screening and assessment, Psychoeducation Passover - no class! Group presentations Group presentations Cognitive-behavioral approaches, Pharmacotherapy, Debriefing Group therapy, Family systems, Assisting children EXAM 3 Last class - Paper due Chapter 12 Pages 269-277; Chapter 11 Chapter 8 Chapter 7, 9

Monday, 4/18 Thursday, 4/21 Monday, 4/25 Thursday, 4/28

Monday, 5/2 Thursday, 5/5 Monday, 5/9

Monday, 5/16

FINAL EXAM - 2:25 - 4:45