Monitor on Psychology - September 2011 - (Page 80)

expect us B Y C HR i S TOPH e R M UNS eY • Monitor staff alerie Cole, PhD, arrived in Joplin, Mo., on May 24, less than 48 hours after a tornado plowed through the town, killing more than 130 people, injuring hundreds more and destroying thousands of homes and businesses. When she arrived, rubble stretched as far as she could see. “You could just feel the despair, and the sadness and fear,” says Cole, senior associate for disaster mental health for the Red Cross. For four days, Cole organized disaster mental health training sessions for local psychologists and licensed mental health professionals, and psychological first aid instruction for Red Cross volunteers. She also visited shattered neighborhoods and talked with survivors at shelters and assistance centers. Just listening to people tell their stories can give them the strength to keep going, Cole says. “It really helps them cope, in a very fundamental, basic way,” she says. Listening is central to the outreach APA’s Disaster Response Network has provided since it was established in 1991. 80 They ‘ Not long ago, few people recognized the need for psychologists APA’s Disaster Response Network marks its 20th anniversary, a psychologist at the scene is a regular and welcomed sight. to be there ’ In the past 20 years, DRN members have responded to the country’s greatest disasters, from the 9/11 attacks to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina to this spring’s onslaught of tornadoes and floods. “We’ve definitely become more integrated into the disaster response system, and they expect us to be there,” Cole says. 3,000 psychologists strong The DRN started in 1991 as a statement of understanding between APA and the American Red Cross. The two groups pledged to work together to address the mental health needs of people affected by natural and other disasters. One of the events that prompted the DRN’s creation was the 1989 crash of United Airlines Flight 232 at the Sioux City, Iowa, airport. A total of 111 people died, but 185 passengers and crew survived. When he heard the news of the crash, Gerard Jacobs, PhD, a psychology professor studying stress at the University of South Dakota, and colleague Randy Quevillon, PhD, called the Sioux City chapter of the Red Cross to ask whether they wanted Monitor on psychology • septeMber 2011 to be among the first responders at disaster sites. But this year, as V

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