PsyCorps Team: Back from the Gulf Area

PsyCorps team members John Thoburn, PhD, Chris Tobey, PhD, Glenn Goodwin, PhD, Susen Musazade, MFT and Michael Tandy were deployed to the Gulf region. Three of us arrived in Montgomery, Alabama, at the American Red Cross command center for Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. The other team members were assigned to Waveland, MS earlier in September and to a phone center in Bakersfield, CA for mental health support.

The Montgomery, AL center was a large operation with approximately 500 volunteers in every sector of Red Cross. We were assigned to the Mental Health division. We initially were assigned to out-processing counseling for Red Cross volunteers. These are essentially final stage mental health checks for all volunteers who have been actively involved in the relief effort and are on their way home.

We also provided care for caregivers on an as necessary basis. In a large scale operation like Katrina Relief, there are often mounting frustrations and issues that relief workers face in the line of duty. PsyCorps team members played an integral role, along with other mental health volunteers in addressing this aspect of the operation. Mental health professionals are stationed at different areas of the command center where relief personnel can sit down and talk about their experience, how they are feeling, and any issues they may have. There is also a large area of phone banks with client service workers assessing physical, medical, and mental health issues with victims. Mental health volunteers are assigned to this area to assist in the event that a phone worker needs additional help while interacting with a client.

The footprint of Katrina…lives and homes ripped apart.

Dr. Tobey was assigned to the Mary Holmes College Red Cross Shelter in West Point Mississippi. The role was to provide post disaster psychological support and emotional preparation for the residents as they transitioned from the temporary housing on the 140 acre campus to more permanent shelter. This mission provided the very important role of providing ongoing psychological support for the 30 plus Red Cross volunteers who worked daily with the 145 residents on campus and an additional 150 evacuees in the West Point community. The Red Cross provided everything from after school tutorial time for children and meal preparation to meeting the goal of finding permanent housing for residents. Red Cross volunteers frequently accessed psychological support in order to be more effective with the residents and at the conclusion of their deployment completed a brief mental health screening. Dr. Tobey was well-matched for this deployment and was successful in carefully negotiating and directing psychological support within the community and among the Red Cross volunteers.

Dr. Thoburn was assigned a supervisory role at the command center in Montgomery working with the mental health support for client services. This role was crucial in assisting the many phone workers who were fielding calls and initiating calls to survivors. Often there was tension and frustration experienced by the phone volunteers and the survivors on the other end as discussion ensued regarding their needs and situation following the hurricane damage. Dr. Thoburn and other mental health personnel provided crucial expertise in handling these difficult situations by providing guidance and support to both victims and caregivers. Team member Susen Musazade, MFT was also deployed to a phone center operation providing similar mental health support for this vital operation.

Dr. Goodwin cross-checking demographic data of survivors prior to outreach at the make-shift command center for Rainbow Team in Mobile, Alabama.

Dr. Goodwin was assigned to a disaster assessment team and was deployed down to the coast in the Mobile, Alabama, area. There are seven teams of four members each, comprised of a nurse, mental health professional, and two outreach field workers. The mission was field outreach, making site visits to assess physical, medical, and psychological issues that survivors and evacuees have been dealing with. We set up a command post in the breakfast area of the Ramada Inn in downtown Mobile, Alabama. Each team was equipped with field vehicles complete with wireless laptops, satellite and wireless phones and supplies necessary for addressing the various aspects of this mission. Dr. Goodwin provided a supervisory role assisting other mental health professionals, relief workers and clients. We were able to serve many survivors, some of whom had lost homes and belongings, and most were experiencing various degrees of financial and psychological distress.

PsyCorps team members were all involved in various aspects of the Katrina relief efforts and were able to fulfill our mission of providing psychological triage and support for survivors and caregivers. We are grateful for this opportunity to serve our fellow Americans and look forward to the further development of a prepared, organized international network of psychological support teams.