Disaster Recovery Behavioral Health Division

Disaster Recovery Behavioral Health services primarily comprises disaster-specific interventions, to assist people who are suffering with distress or disorders associated with other types of traumatic events. The interventions used to support survivors of other types of traumatic events are generally applicable to disaster survivors in the later stages of response activities. Finally, a few of the interventions (those used in the long-term recovery phase of disaster) are applicable only when the survivors have been fully assessed by a licensed or certified professional and determined to have a diagnosable disorder, such as major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or other anxiety related disorders. The immediate and intermediate interventions help achieve two goals of disaster behavioral health: • Mitigate the development of serious mental disorders. • Provide tools that support the natural recovery process that occurs with time for the majority of the affected population.