Training and Practice in Trauma, Catastrophes, and Disaster Counseling

Trauma-related assistance in response to disasters or catastrophes is needed locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, and the authors argue that there is a necessity for counseling psychologists and counseling psychology programs to incorporate it into their prevention, training, and social justice repertoire. Counseling psychologists are in a unique position to engage in disaster relief efforts because of their values and training, particularly around work with diverse clients. The authors present examples from two training programs of disaster mental health work completed in the field with students and their preparation of students for this work. They discuss some struggles and challenges in involving students and interventions for resolutions and further show how real-world crisis situations and interventions can easily be used as training tools. The authors discuss a number of themes that emerged throughout the disaster site examples, including students’ flexibility, openness to cultural issues, self-care, good interpersonal skills, resilience, and compassion.