Monitor on Psychology - September 2011 - (Page 81)

American Red Cross volunteers Katie and Mike Gecewich with Nick Lefeber in Mapleton, Iowa, in April after devastating tornadoes. a psychological response team at the crash site. “They said, and I quote, ‘As many as you can, and as quickly as you can,’” remembers Jacobs. Quevillon led the more severely injured to the hospital while Jacobs led more ambulatory survivors. “We were basically the only mental health effort going on at that point,” Jacobs says. Red Cross officials remember the Sioux City crash as a key moment when attention shifted to addressing people’s mental health after a disaster, says Rob Yin, who directs the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health program. “There was significant emotional distress observed in the Red Cross volunteers who were responding, and it was significant enough, and above average enough, to cause people to think maybe we need a specific activity to support volunteers and survivors,” Yin says. Today, the DRN is a nationwide network of 3,000 volunteer psychologists who respond nationally and locally when disaster strikes. These psychologists don’t deliver a 50-minute hour of therapy when they encounter survivors. Rather, they impart septeMber 2011 • Monitor on psychology coping skills, offer emotional support and help survivors restore their individual problem-solving skills. DRN psychologists played a critical role in responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, helping survivors, family members and responders at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. So far, though, DRN’s largest response came in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Almost 900 psychologists traveled to the Gulf Coast for two-week stints to assist survivors and Red Cross workers. A few hundred more psychologists worked with local governments and Red Cross chapters offering shelter and support to hurricane evacuees nationwide. Evolving to meet the need As a result of these and other crises, the DRN has evolved to improve its coordination and services. For instance, the DRN has focused more of its efforts on working with state and local governments. DRN volunteers are also helping local Red Cross chapters respond to specific events in their communities, such as fires that displace families, workplace shootings and 81 Talia Frenkel - American Red Cross

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - September 2011

Monitor on Psychology - September 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Supreme Court hears psychologists on prison and video game cases
Antipsychotics are overprescribed in nursing homes
New MCAT likely to recognize the mind-body connection
A $2 million boost for military and families
In Brief
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE
On Your Behalf
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
TIME CAPSULE
QUESTIONNAIRE
Speaking of Education
SCIENCE WATCH
An uncertain future for American workers
Advocating for psychotherapy
PRACTICE PROFILE
ETHICALLY SPEAKING
Seared in our memories
Helping kids cope in an uncertain world
APA and Nickelodeon team up
Muslims in America, post 9/11
Bin Laden’s death
‘They expect us to be there’
Answering the call of public policy
Candidates answer final questions
APA News
Division Spotlight
New leaders
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
Disaster relief training
Honoring teaching excellence
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - September 2011