Page 118 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

The Psychospiritual Impact of Disaster 87

sources of information that support perceptions of safety. Clergy may
have status to speak with the media to establish constructive coverage
of the disaster and to collaborate with mental health professionals to
facilitate use of the media and the Internet for mental health education
and interventions.

Reducing Emotional Arousal

When a community faces a disaster, transient, acute distress is normal
and may be adaptive in the effort to solve problems rapidly. It is impor-
tant that individuals who are emotionally distressed to understand that
this reaction is not “crazy” or an indication of psychopathology (Hobfoll
et al., 2007). These reactions may require mental health attention if they
impair basic functioning, such as eating, sleeping, and essential prob-
lem-solving tasks, but most who initially present with symptoms of post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will return to normal in the coming
weeks or months (Hobfoll et al., 2007). Including clergy in counseling for
those with acute emotional and spiritual needs reinforces the individual’s
strengths and efforts toward personal growth and positive meaning-mak-
ing. In many communities, seeing clergy for counseling is less stigmatiz-
ing than seeing a mental health professional and, thus, provides a means
for overcoming a barrier to accessing services (Benedek, Fullerton, &
Ursano, 2007; Weaver et al., 1996). Should an individual have a more pro-
tracted or serious reaction requiring inpatient care or lengthy psycho-
therapy, diagnostic labels may be necessary to procure funding for care.
Individuals who were managing psychiatric disorders before the disaster
are likely to need very specific help from mental health professionals to
address stress-related symptom exacerbation, gain access to appropriate
medications (which is often disrupted in a disaster), and help to cope with
social and personal resource losses that affect mental health management
(Resick, 2007).
Once widely practiced, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing has not ful-
filled its original promise (McNally, Bryant, & Ehlers, 2003), but clergy and
mental health professionals with appropriate training are positioned to
provide a number of other interventions that can assist in reducing hyper-
arousal, including therapeutic grounding, medications, breathing tech-
niques, yoga, imagery, meditation, and prayer (Cohen, Warneke, Fouladi,
Rodriguez, & Chaoul-Reich, 2004; Foa & Rothbaum, 1998; Harris et al.,
2008; Hobfoll et al., 2007; Roffe, Schmidt, & Ernst, 2005).