Page 182 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

Making Referrals 151

members of partner groups know each other well, the movements can
be choreographed quickly without the need for lengthy discussion. This
occurs only after repeated positive experiences with each other, when both
partners have a sense of each other’s response patterns and movements.
Until such a sense of other is developed, it is essential for the two groups
to frequently communicate about each discipline’s assessment of individu-
als and the community affected and together develop an effective service
delivery plan to meet emotional and spiritual needs.
In the dance of disaster response, disaster spiritual care providers take
the lead when communities with a religious affiliation or strong ties to
their faith are affected, when the affected are those who are not comfort-
able speaking with mental health professionals, and in working with cul-
tures that historically have a comfort level with clergy and are wary of
mental health workers, such as first responders.
A Red Cross national poll taken by Caravan ORC International in
October 2001 surveyed over 1,000 adults and found that 60% of the pop-
ulation reported a preference to speak with people of faith rather than
mental health personnel. Other studies have found that “in small commu-
nities, clergy often coordinate disaster relief efforts due to their longstand-
ing leadership roles in those communities” (Koenig, 2007, p. 921).
When a death has occurred, spiritual care and mental health workers
both provide support during death notifications and escort families to the
morgue for body identification. Experience has shown that when people
are in that vulnerable state, they often find great comfort in the presence
of a faith leader. Even when people are mad at God, often they will seek out
someone they see as a representative of a faith to yell at, question, demand
answers from, or even blame.
For those impacted by disaster who are wary of religion or who have
no religious affiliation, if there is a need for a mental health evaluation
of a client and in disasters affecting a population with known mental ill-
ness, mental health practitioners take the lead and spiritual care providers
are available to assist them. For example, at the March 2008 crane col-
lapse in Manhattan, Julie Taylor assessed the spiritual needs, and Diane
Ryan assessed the emotional needs of the families of those missing and
deceased as well as the residents evacuated from the affected buildings.
A service delivery plan was mutually developed and the mental health
and spiritual care teams were briefed on the operational plan for the next
few days. Throughout the first 12 hours of the operation, Diane and Julie
were in frequent communication as the needs of those affected changed.
Together, the team consoled families through death notifications and