Newswise — With food, water, medicine and clothing beginning to reach some survivors of the tsunami, the essentials of hope and empathy are equally needed, says Menninger Clinic trauma expert and author Jon Allen, Ph.D.
The psychological trauma for the tsunami survivors will have catastrophic effects for many for years to come. But before actual mental health treatment is needed, Dr. Allen explains that the children and adults affected require the most basic human psychological needs: To be heard, to be understood, to regain hope.
For the tsunami survivors, he said, "even before the intervention of therapists, fellow human beings have the capacity to help them with the recovery process and will play a critical role in starting the healing. We have learned in our research that pure human connection is vital for recovery." Traumatized persons, Dr. Allen adds, "must develop the skills others naturally take for granted, not the least of which is making use of one another."
Dr. Allen is the author of the new second edition of Coping With Trauma and coauthor of Restoring Hope and Trust: An Illustrated Guide to Mastering Trauma. Both books were released in late 2004. In addition to specializing in the treatment of adults experiencing severe effects of trauma, he is a researcher and educator on attachment theory and mentalization as professor and Helen Malsin Palley Chair in Mental Health Research in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation and Psychiatry.
In due time, when governments request assistance from the world's mental health community, treatment will be required to help individuals recover from severe effects such as posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders, chemical dependency, family relationship problems and depression or suicidal thoughts.
Treatment will benefit present and future generations because trauma can cause lasting adverse effects. With recurrent activation of brain systems that mediate the stress adaptation response, actual physical and physiological changes occur in the brain. This recurrent activation can be caused by repeated trauma exposure or to various forms of reliving such as nightmares and flashbacks. These changes occur in the areas of the brain involved in emotion and in memory and can lead people to be sensitized emotionally and to have poorer ability to lay down new memories. Substance abuse can accelerate these negative changes in the brain. But the good news is that the brain has the capacity to normalize with successful recovery from trauma-related psychiatric disorders.
"Now more than ever, we must understand psychological trauma for the sake of prevention as well as healing. Fortunately, professional knowledge about trauma and its treatment has burgeoned since the American Psychiatric Association formalized the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 1980. Yet, professionals must make this knowledge available to those who most need it: trauma sufferers and those who care for them."
The relief effort places another group is at risk for experiencing effects of the trauma. With all of the aid workers, military service personnel and journalists who have gone to the stricken countries to assist the survivors in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, some can be expected to experience the effects of trauma much as soldiers do after witnessing horrific scenes.
The Menninger Clinic in Houston, Texas, is an international specialty psychiatric center, providing innovative programs in treatment, research, and education. Founded in 1925 in Kansas, Menninger is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital at the Texas Medical Center. For 14 consecutive years, Menninger has been named among the leading psychiatric hospitals in U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of America's Best Hospitals.
Dr. Allen's schedule doesn't permit him to travel for in-studio interviews. Satellite interviews from Houston are an alternative.
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