Free Paper Sample on Psychological Challenges in Disaster Management

Introduction

The initiated response plan describes how to respond to the developing disaster effects. The program shows some essential ways of handing the destruction and outcomes of disaster events. However, the response plan lacks a detailed description of the actual contexts applied in describing how the response team should deal with the developing psychological challenges when handling the significant loss of lives in the disaster management process. Mental problems are shared among the team reacting to the disaster effects (Greenberg et al., 2020). Often, the disaster devastates and traumatizes the affected population and the response team significantly. The response team should initiate a practical approach used in addressing the possible psychological challenges that develop. Therefore, applying effective ways in dealing with the psychological challenges in the disaster management process in a significant life’s loss is essential as part of the response plan to the disaster events.

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Federal Emergency Management Agency

Disasters occasionally occur in different parts of the United States. The catastrophes are mainly associated with significant loss to human resources, including significant injuries and death. The homeland security department under the Federal Emergency Management Agency has initiated some influential bodies that are actively involved in addressing the developing challenges in disaster areas. However, most of the response staff develop psychological problems such as mental disorders that include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorders, or acute stress disorder (Brooks et al., 2019). All these disorders develop mainly on the occasions where the individuals encounter a significant loss of lives. Therefore, when developing an effective response plan, the detailed response on how to deal with the considerable loss of lives should be included to avoid adverse psychological challenges of the disaster.

Psychological Challenges Consequences of Disasters

The psychological challenges on the response staff to the disaster might not be in the same degree to the actual injuries and problems developing from the offending event. Therefore, a systematic approach is necessary for realizing the most influential method applied in identifying and developing effective interventions. The individuals sent to react to the devastating events of the disasters might develop some psychiatric disorders related to mental disorders (Canton, 2019). When encountering massive deaths in response to the disaster effects, the response team may also experience new- onset of psychological distress or pre-existing psychopathology. Also, the victims of disasters encounter mental disorders after massive deaths in disaster events.

Therefore, an average of 11% to 38% population of the distressed individuals recorded from the assessment of the individuals sheltering in the family assistance centers among the people affected by the disasters and massive death outcomes from the events. The population also records adjustment and stress-related disorders, significant depressions, deprivations, and disorders related to the substance abuse that are effective in the process when struggling to forget the impacts of the disaster in the standard life practices. An average of 40% response staff and affected population by the significant death in the disaster events records a pre-existing mental disorder (Duckers et al., 2017). Most of the response staffs with the more severe reactions to the disaster stress are occasionally referred to the mental health service institutions as compared to the less severe reactive individuals.

Affected Population

Disasters are categorized as either artificial or natural disasters. Some of the natural disasters include cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, and droughts. In contrast, unnatural disasters include other factors such as chemical and biological disasters, nuclear and radiological emergencies, wars, or terrorist attacks—the United States experienced both natural and artificial disasters (Greenberg et al., 2020). The response to the disaster effects needs a significant reaction from the teams involved and mobilization of significant resource amounts that are challenging to organize in the areas experiencing low resource impacts.

As discussed, the population affected by the disaster impacts occasionally encounter psychological challenges. The people that are significantly affected, including the response staff, seldom encounter a state of high stress and should require mental health service address. However, the affected population might require some other sensitive needs when responding to the effects of the disaster, such as the provision of shelter, security, food, and other sensitive requirements (Hallgren et al., 2018). Therefore, when planning a response to the area affected by the disaster, initiating an effective plan to deal with the developing mental disorders is essential to both the affected parties and staff. The planning of the mental health service for the populations affected by the disaster is considered a significant challenge, mainly in the areas with low resource settings. Response planning composes of the response requirements, the evaluation of the available resources, and their regular evaluation to mobilize the resources within the affected population alongside the provision of the long- term care and relief services.

This memo describes the reactions and components of disaster plans by the Federal Emergency Management Agency within the Homeland Security Department in the United States. The agency occasionally reacts to different disasters in different parts of the nation. Most cases expose the response teams to a significant number of death cases and destructions of properties that might cause developmental disorder in the process of service delivery (Greenberg et al., 2020). Therefore, the agency still experiences a significant challenge in the incidents associated with the management of disaster response practices.

Event

For instance, the most recent disaster was recorded on August 19, 2020, is the North America Wildfire. In various western areas in the United States, wildfire is mainly experienced annually between august to November. However, the season of 2020 has registered different wildfire cases in various states. Across North America, different major fire cases are recorded. The event of the wildfire disaster effect resulted in a significant impact on the northern region of the United States. The record, as per august 19, 2020showed an average of 5,762 incidents of fire within California (Greenberg et al., 2020). The fire disaster has consumed an average of 204 481 acres. The results of the wildfire disaster contribute to an average of 179 damaged structures. The fire has also resulted in significant cases of death of both animals and humans.

Constitution of Disaster

The identified disaster of fire outbreak in northern America has resulted in some significant impacts in the region. Encountering death cases affects both the affected population as well as the responding staff. Therefore, developing an influential response plan would be necessary for addressing the actual outcome of the events that deal with the possible psychological challenges in the process. Following the disaster, the federal government, under the department of homeland security, has initiated a team of mental health professionals to assist in managing the possible causes of psychological challenges (Greenberg et al., 2020). The particular unit is responsible for addressing the developing mental problem among the team and also the victims of the disaster. The mental health team of professionals is composed of two clinical psychologists, three psychiatrists, and psychiatric social workers drawn from various health institutions. The purpose of helping in response and managing the possible psychological challenges recorded when responding to the disaster that claimed significant lives as well as massive destruction of properties.

Various agencies were involved in the response and relief work to encounter disaster impacts. However, the team’s main objective includes the focus on assessment approach on the mental health requirements on the affected population as well as the side responding to the disaster effects. The process of dealing with the psychological challenges would include an adequate screening of the involved parties and the provision of psychosocial counseling and treatment to the distressed person who is diagnosed to be having psychiatric difficulties (Brooks et al., 2019). They are also responsible for training and sensitizing the paramedical professionals and doctors involved in the professional management of the disaster that associates with mental health challenges. Therefore, the actual purpose of the team responding to the psychological challenge would be categorized under the sensitization programs and clinical care.

Work by the Clinical Team

The responding team to the disaster should also include the psychological challenge-response team in general. The inclusion of the mental health service provision team ensured both the response team and affected population were successfully managed from the possible impacts of the mental devastations from the results of the disaster (Brooks et al., 2019). The individual clinical teams are well distributed in the region and made effective in reacting to the developing cases in the mental health challenge contexts. The team would be responsible for responding to the psychological challenges of both the responding sides to the disasters and also the affected units that could not withstand the witness of massive loss of lives. The clinical teams would be responsible for providing psychiatric medications, assessments, psychoeducation, and counseling to the individual affected by the sensitization of the local health personnel when responding to the disaster effects. After the screening, the individuals found to be victims of the psychological challenges would be referred to the mental health facilities to help in containing the impact of the psychological difficulties recorded when responding to the disaster effects with a large number of deaths and massive destructions of properties.

Conclusion

A large number of the individuals affected by the wildfire disaster have experienced massive destruction of their properties as well as the deaths of relatives and friends to some capacity. The victims had a high chance of experiencing a psychological challenge. For instance, a standard psychiatric screening was carried out to evaluate the availability of adjustment disorders, depressive episodes, and other stress disorders (Brooks et al., 2019). The cases of post-stress diseases have also been recorded in the response process, and a section of response staff have also recorded stress-related symptoms, thus developing the interests of also initiating an effective plan used to address the psychological challenges within the reactions to the cases of mental problems.