A Louisiana psychologist's experience with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

This article was originally written shortly after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. It describes the process through which one local psychologist progressed during the evacuation and immediate aftermath. The final part of the article was written two years later and includes reflections on the recovery process as well as changes in the practice of the psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: A personal story of a psychologist from New Orleans.

The author, a psychologist living in New Orleans and specializing in trauma work, describes her personal story in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The immediate response to the crisis, her personal feelings related to the devastation of her community, and ways to organize a mental health response are elaborated. The author describes the work of the trauma team from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in providing immediate outreach and mental health services on the cruise ships set up to house first responders in New Orleans, in schools, and in the community. The author describes psychological first aid in crisis response and provides vignettes illustrating the experiences of first responders, children, and families. Finally, the lessons learned by the author are elaborated. Along with negatives, positive lessons can be learned with such a life-transforming experience. The importance of recognizing vicarious traumatization is emphasized as well as the crucial need for self-care for victims, survivors, and mental health providers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina on persons with disabilities and independent living center staff living on the American Gulf Coast.

Objectives: To determine the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the psychosocial health of people with disabilities and on the ability of people with disabilities in the affected area to live independently. Participants: Transcribed conversations were analyzed for 56 survivors of Hurricane Katrina on the American Gulf Coast, all of whom were persons with disabilities or persons working with them. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted either individually or in focus groups with participants. Qualitative analysis was undertaken using hermeneutic techniques. Results: Six major themes emerged: faith, incredulousness, blaming others or oneself, family adaptation and resiliency, and work and professional responsibility. Conclusions: The resiliency of persons with disabilities to adapt to disasters can be better understood through factors such as these, providing an effective barometer of social capital that can help societies prepare for future disasters among those most vulnerable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of Katrina: Shedding light on things forgotten.

Volunteering on a disaster mental health team to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina can affect a psychologist in a number of ways that cannot be known until after the experience has taken place. Such an event will have a unique impact based on who the person is, on his or her life experience, and on what activities he or she conducted. This article shares the impact this experience has had on a psychologist who had never before been involved in a disaster mental health effort. The focus is on how this experience has helped to shape and influence the author's present clinical work, both as a practitioner and program administrator. Rather than learning anything completely novel or foreign, instead, this experience has shed light on things known but that were in some ways forgotten or less fully appreciated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: General self-efficacy’s relationship to PTSD prevalence and severity.

Hurricane Katrina survivors (N = 399) on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were surveyed to examine the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general self-efficacy. As hypothesized, general self-efficacy was found to be inversely correlated with PTSD severity and prevalence, women reported greater PTSD severity and lower general self-efficacy, as compared with men, and hurricane impact was found to be positively correlated with PTSD severity and prevalence. Age was not significantly associated with general self-efficacy, PTSD severity, or PTSD prevalence, and sex was not found to be significantly related to PTSD prevalence. Hierarchical multiple regression and hierarchical logistic regression analyses further demonstrated the strong association between PTSD and general self-efficacy. Study limitations, research directions, and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postdisaster supervisor strategies for promoting supervisee self-care: Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.

The purpose of this article is to provide supervisors with postdisaster strategies for promoting supervisee self-care. These recommendations are based on relevant disaster mental health and supervision research along with the authors' experiences of supervising and teaching in a university setting following Hurricane Katrina in South Mississippi. Supervisory examples from the authors' hurricane experiences are also provided to highlight each recommendation. A supervisee self-care tool is offered to aid supervisors in their efforts to help supervisees develop positive coping responses in the event of a disaster. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Crisis and disaster counseling: Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

Reviews the book, Crisis and disaster counseling: Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters edited by Priscilla Dass-Brailsford (see record 2010-00735-000). This book is an excellent text for clinicians who respond to and work with clients in crises resulting from disasters. The book consists of 15 chapters covering distinct, yet related, topics. Whereas some chapters deal exclusively with Hurricane Katrina, others have a broader focus, offering insight that will be helpful in responding to any crisis. Geared toward clinicians, the text is written in clear, easily comprehended, concise prose. Each chapter is structured in a similar fashion and contains chapter highlights as well as practical implications presented in bullet points for easy review. Readers of this book treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents will not be disappointed. The seasoned crisis worker will benefit from the unique information gained from those who responded to Hurricane Katrina, both immediately and long after the destruction. The novice clinician will begin to gain an understanding of the complexity of working with those in crisis and the challenges and implications of such work that need to be considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resource loss and relocation: A follow-up study of adolescents two years after Hurricane Katrina.

The long-term psychological impact of Hurricane Katrina was assessed among students (N = 636) at two high schools in southeastern Louisiana. Displaced students from the greater New Orleans area were compared with nondisplaced students on several factors. Displaced students reported higher levels of general psychological distress (GPD) and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Age, resource loss, relocation time, relocation distance, self-esteem, optimism, storm exposure, and gender were then assessed in separate regression models predicting GPD and PTS. Both hierarchical regression models were significantly predictive. Self-esteem, relocation distance, optimism, resource loss, and storm exposure were significant predictors of GPD. Resource loss, relocation time, storm exposure, and self-esteem were significant predictors of PTS. As expected, gender did not make significant contributions to either model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meeting mental health needs following a natural disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of Louisiana and Mississippi families. Housing was destroyed, jobs were lost, and family members were separated, sometimes in different states and without communication. Postdisaster stress reactions were common, with vulnerable individuals most affected. Mental health services were not adequate to meet immediate needs, and postdisaster mental health issues often emerge over time. This article describes the mental health needs of dislocated and evacuee children and families and the steps that were taken to develop mental health programs that would be sustainable over time to meet this new level of need. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dirty dozen: Twelve failures of the Hurricane Katrina response and how psychology can help.

This comprehensive analysis addresses the United States' alarming lack of preparedness to respond effectively to a massive disaster as evidenced by Hurricane Katrina. First, a timeline of problematic response events during and after Hurricane Katrina orients readers to some of the specific problems encountered at different levels of government. Second, a list of the "Dirty Dozen"--12 major failures that have occurred in prior disasters, which also contributed to inadequate response during and after Hurricane Katrina--is presented. Third, this article encourages expanding psychology's role beyond the treatment of trauma to encompass disaster planning and mitigation efforts from a broader public health perspective. Finally, areas for important interdisciplinary research in human behavior that will influence our nation's overall preparedness for future catastrophes are identified, and ways psychologists can become personally involved beyond treating casualties are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A preliminary investigation of family coping styles and psychological well-being among adolescent survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The relation between family coping styles and psychological well-being was compared for adolescents (12-17 years) displaced by Hurricane Katrina and currently living in a relocation camp (n = 50) and nonaffected adolescents (n = 31) matched on age, race, and socioeconomic status. Adolescents in the Katrina sample reported a family mobilizing strategy that reflected an increased reliance and seeking of extra-familial, community-based support but lower self-esteem and more symptoms of distress and depression. Follow-up analyses suggested that the relations between group differences in participants' hurricane-related trauma experiences and greater psychological distress may be mediated in part by the family coping strategy; exposure to increased levels of community-provided support may have unintended consequences on adolescents' psychological health. These results highlight the importance of future research on both potential benefits and costs of family coping styles in adolescents affected by a large-scale disaster. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizing chaos: Crisis management in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Applying the model of crisis management (D. Smith, 1990), this case study of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New Orleans chronicles the organization's response to Hurricane Katrina and illustrates the unique aspects of this crisis, as well as the well-worn patterns this organization faced in the year following the storm. We describe the organizational challenges associated with various stages of crisis and identify the strengths that facilitated this organization's successes. Practical and theoretical suggestions are provided for how organizations and organizational psychologists can learn from the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. Five lessons are summarized for helping organizations better prepare for future crises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predisaster trait anxiety and negative affect predict posttraumatic stress in youths after Hurricane Katrina.

On the basis of theory and previous research, it was hypothesized that predisaster child trait anxiety would predict disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, even after controlling for the number of hurricane exposure events. Results support this hypothesis and further indicate that predisaster negative affect predicted disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms. Also, Katrina-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were predicted by the number of hurricane exposure events and sex (being female). Predisaster generalized anxiety disorder symptoms predicted postdisaster generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, and predisaster trait anxiety predicted postdisaster depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for developing interventions to mitigate the impact of disasters in youths. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and Hurricane Katrina: Natural disaster response through training, public education, and research.

The purpose of this article was to describe a model of clinical/disaster psychology and illustrate how one psychologist applied training in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The primary focus of the article relates to training graduate students of clinical psychology and assisting evacuees, public education and dissemination, and research. Psychologists may find themselves in similar positions when disasters occur in the future, and the linkage of research and theory with anecdotal accounts may provide mental health professionals with ideas regarding avenues of training to pursue and the various roles that may be served in times of disaster. Recommendations are offered to training programs with regard to infusing tenets of clinical/disaster psychology into their curriculum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Our Katrina experience: Providing mental health services in Concordia Parish, Louisiana.

Responding to the call for psychologists to serve Louisiana and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, 2 school psychologists spent almost 2 weeks in central Louisiana in early September 2005. They were located in a rural area and provided mental health services to evacuees from Hurricane Katrina in a number of small shelters, an RV park, and the schools. This article describes their experiences as mental health volunteers and the impact those experiences had on their professional and personal lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family and individual factors associated with substance involvement and PTS symptoms among adolescents in greater New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Objective: This study examined the influence of hurricane impact as well as family and individual risk factors on posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and substance involvement among clinically referred adolescents affected by Hurricane Katrina. Method: A total of 80 adolescents (87% male; 13–17 years old; mean age = 15.6 years; 38% minorities) and their parents were interviewed at the adolescent's intake into substance abuse treatment, 16 to 46 months postdisaster. Independent measures included hurricane impact variables (initial loss/disruption and perceived life threat); demographic and predisaster variables (family income, gender, predisaster adolescent substance use, predisaster trauma exposure, and parental substance abuse); postdisaster family factors (parental psychopathology, family cohesion, and parental monitoring); and postdisaster adolescent delinquency. Results: Hierarchical multivariate regression analyses showed that adolescent substance involvement was associated with higher family income, lower parental monitoring (adolescent report), and more adolescent delinquency. Adolescent-reported PTS symptoms were associated with greater hurricane-related initial loss/disruption, lower family cohesion (adolescent report), and more adolescent delinquency, whereas parent-reported adolescent PTS symptoms were associated with greater parental psychopathology, lower parental monitoring (adolescent report), and lower family cohesion (parent report). Conclusions: The results suggest that hurricane impact was related only to adolescent-reported PTS. However, certain postdisaster family and individual risk factors (low family cohesion and parental monitoring, more adolescent delinquency) were associated both with adolescent substance involvement and with PTS symptoms. Identification of these factors suggests directions for future research as well as potential target areas for screening and intervention with substance-abusing adolescents after disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collaborating with African American churches to overcome minority disaster mental health disparities: What mental health professionals can learn from Hurricane Katrina.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how mental health professionals and African American pastors and their churches could collaborate to overcome minority disaster mental health disparities. Forty-one African American pastors of churches located in south Mississippi, in counties directly affected by Hurricane Katrina, participated in semi-structured interviews approximately 1 year after the storm. The majority of participants reported being interested in collaborating with mental health professionals to: (a) develop educational and outreach opportunities, (b) lead assessment procedures, (c) offer consultation activities, (d) provide clinically focused services, and (e) utilize spiritual resources and support. Participants provided further insight into how these collaborative activities could be modified to meet post-disaster needs and offered novel applications. Following from these discussions, the article provides a number of recommendations that can be used to aid in the development of disaster collaborative activities between African American pastors and churches and mental health professionals to serve minority communities while also decreasing disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the viability of PTSD Checklist (PCL) short form use: Analyses from Mississippi Gulf Coast Hurricane Katrina survivors.

One measure commonly used to assess posttraumatic stress disorder is the PTSD Checklist (PCL). Lang and Stein (2005) extracted 4 subsets of PCL items, validating 2 of them for possible use in screening in primary care settings. The viability of the 4 item subsets was evaluated psychometrically in the present study with a sample of Hurricane Katrina survivors (N = 337). Corrected item–total and corrected item–cluster correlations were calculated and compared with those obtained by Lang and Stein. In addition, the sensitivity, specificity, and overall correct classification of the 4 item subsets were evaluated. With methodology approximating Lang and Stein's work, the current data would lead to the development of different screening versions of the PCL. Although some psychometric support was achieved (e.g., high sensitivity), use of the Lang and Stein PCL item subsets for screening natural disaster survivors appears unjustified on the basis of the present data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hurricane Katrina: Experiences of psychologists and implications for future disaster response.

The landfall of Hurricane Katrina marked not only one of the most significant and destructive natural disasters for the United States in recent history, but also a new benchmark in challenges faced by psychologists providing services. The authors explain their roles following the hurricane, describing not only local activities for recovery but efforts conducted in the Gulf Coast as well. Experiences and perceptions of the first author, who was deployed to the Gulf Coast on numerous occasions, are highlighted. In addition, psychological assessments were carried out with a small number of displaced Katrina survivors who were relocated to the authors' local community. The authors document many of the challenges faced by psychologists and other mental health workers during relief efforts in the Gulf Coast, concluding with a set of recommendations for future disaster-relief initiatives regarding such issues as ways in which psychologists can participate in disaster-relief efforts, challenges faced when implementing interventions, cultural competency, community preparedness, and scientific research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)