Citation

Kowalski KM, Kalayjian A. Safety Sci. 2001; 39(1-2): 71-81.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The August 1999, earthquake in Turkey devastated the area physically, and the population emotionally. Less than a month later, another earthquake struck the same area. Six weeks after the first earthquake, a small team of psychologists from the United States journeyed to the ravaged area and developed a six-step mental health intervention program for the survivors. The program, Mental Health Outreach Program (MHOP), was implemented successfully for the traumatized people in the tent camps; in addition, children and personnel in a number of schools in Istanbul benefited from the intervention. MHOP is described in this paper with background material, and the rationale for the six-step intervention is presented with documentation. The authors suggest constructive recommendations for the future development and implementation of global mental health support programs pre-, during, and post-disaster.