Disaster response and group self-care

TOPIC: This article reports on group support using Psychological First Aid during Katrina relief work. It explores this issue from personal experience and a theoretical perspective. PURPOSE: Group support is useful for volunteers as well as refugees and makes it possible to deal with extraordinary events of disaster more successfully. CONCLUSIONS: The use of group work with disaster and trauma survivors can have an immediate positive impact and lasting consequences in preventing post-traumatic stress disorder. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: APRNs would benefit from group training in present centered therapy, acute debriefing, supportive, cognitive behavioral, and psychodynamic approaches. The ability to conduct groups with trauma survivors and professionals during disasters is a vital skill and service to provide immediate relief and constructive coping.