Large scale natural disasters pose serious risks to mental health and simultaneously wreak havoc on the very systems called upon to ameliorate those risks. School-based mental health services have been identified as a potential mechanism through which gaps in service delivery systems can be addressed in post-disaster environments. We believe that a public health framework provides a useful guide for school psychologists who may be called upon to develop school-based systems of care following a disaster. In this article we discuss considerations and challenges in the application of this model in the context of our experience developing school-based mental health services in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, following Hurricane Katrina.
Abramson, D., & Garfield, R. ( 2006). On the edge-a report of the Louisiana child and family health study. Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu/files/marshall_plan.pdf
2.
Ager, A., Stark, L., Akesson, B., & Boothby, N. ( 2010). Defining best practice in care and protection of children in crisis-affected settings: A Delphi study. Child Development , 81, 1271-1286.
3.
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-TR (Text-revision). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
Bourque, L.B., Siegel, J.M., Kano, M., & Wood, M.M. ( 2006). Weathering the storm: The impact of hurricanes on physical and mental health. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604, 129-151.
5.
Bronfenbrenner, U. ( 1989). Ecological systems theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development (Vol. 6, pp. 187-249). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
6.
Center for Community Change (2006). Dismantling a community. Washington, DC: Author.
7.
Cole, E., & Brown, R.S. ( 2002). Psychological needs of post-war children in Kosovo: A preliminary analysis. School Psychology International, 23, 131-147.
8.
DeSalvo, K.B., Hyre, A.D., Ompad, D.C., Menke, A., Tynes, L.L., & Muntner, P. ( 2006). Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a New Orleans workforce following Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Urban Health , 84, 142-152.
9.
Faust, D.S., Black, F.W., Abrahams, J.P., Warner, M.S., & Bellando, B.J. (2008). After the storm: Katrina’s impact on psychological practice in New Orleans. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39, 1-6.
10.
Feeny, N.C., Foa, E.B., Treadwell, K.R., & March, J. ( 2005). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in youth: A critical review of the cognitive and behavioral treatment outcome literature. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 466-476.
11.
Greenberg, M.T., Weissberg, R.P., Utne O.’Brien, M., Zins, J.E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., et al. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58, 466-474.
12.
Heath, M.A., Nickerson, A.B., Annandale, N., Kemple, A., & Dean, B. ( 2009). Strengthening cultural sensitivity in children’s disaster mental health services. School Psychology International , 30, 347-373.
13.
Jaycox, L.H. ( 2003). Cognitive-behavioral intervention for trauma in schools . Longmont, CO: Sopris West Educational Services.
14.
LaGreca, A.M., Silverman, W.K., Vernberg, E.M., & Prinstein, M.J. (1996). Symptoms of posttraumatic stress in children after Hurricane Andrew: A prospective study. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, 64, 712-723.
15.
Kirkley, K.O., & Medway, F.J. ( 2003). Promoting children’s resilience and coping following September 11, 2001. School Psychology International, 24, 166-181.
16.
Klingman, A. ( 1994). Children’s response to the Gulf War: Assessment via ordinal and nominal quantification of compositions. School Psychology International, 15, 235-246.
17.
Masten, A.S., & Osofsy, J.D. ( 2010). Disasters and their impact on child development: Introduction to the special section. Child Development, 91, 1029-1039.
18.
Nastasi, B.K. ( 2000). School psychologists as health-care providers in the 21st century: Conceptual framework, professional identity, and professional practice. School Psychology Review, 29, 540-554.
19.
Nastasi, B.K., Jayasena, A., Summerville, M., & Borja, A. ( 2011). Facilitating long-term recovery from natural disasters: Psychosocial programming in tsunami-affected schools of Sri Lanka. School Psychology International, 32(5), 512-532.
20.
Nastasi, B.K., Moore, R.B., & Varjas, K.M. ( 2004). School-based mental health services: Creating comprehensive and culturally specific programs. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
21.
Nastasi, B.K., Petrosini, A., Overstreet, S., & Leadership Team at Lusher Charter School. ( 2006). Lusher Charter School healing curriculum: Grades 1-5 & Grades 6-10. (Developed for Lusher Charter School, New Orleans, LA, in collaboration with Tulane University , New Orleans, LA). Minneapolis, MN: Walden University.
22.
Nastasi, B.K., & Schensul, S.L. (2005). Contributions of qualitative research to the validity of intervention research. Journal of School Psychology, 43(3), 177-195.
23.
Nastasi, B.K., Varjas, K., Bernstein, R., & Jayasena, A. ( 2000). Conducting participatory culture-specific consultation: A global perspective on multicultural consultation. School Psychology Review, 29, 401-413.
24.
Norris, F.H., Friedman, M.J., Watson, P.J., Byrne, C.M., Diaz, E., & Kaniasty, K. ( 2002). 60,000 disaster victims speak: Part I. An empirical review of the empirical literature, 1981-2001. Psychiatry, 65, 207-239.
25.
Osofsky, H.J., Osofsky, J.D., Kronenberg, M., Brennan, A., & Cross Hansel, T. (2009). Posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after Hurricane Katrina: Predicting the need for mental health services. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79, 212-220.
26.
Overstreet, S., Salloum, A., Burch, B., & West, J. ( 2011). Challenges associated with childhood exposure to severe natural disasters: Research review and clinical implications. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 4, 52-68.
27.
Pfefferbaum, B., North, C.S., Doughty, D.E., Pfefferbaum, R.L., Dumont, C.E., & Pynoos, R.S. ( 2006). Trauma, grief and depression in Nairobi children after the 1988 bombing of theAmerican embassy. Death Studies, 30, 561-577.
28.
Pina, A.A., Villalta, I.K., Ortiz, C.D., Gottschall, A.C., Costa, N.M., & Weems, C.F. ( 2008). Social support, discrimination, and coping as predictors of posttraumatic stress reactions in youth survivors of Hurricane Katrina . Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 564-574.
29.
Reid, J.K., & Dixon, W.A. ( 2001). A study of Barbadian school personnel attitudes on coping with grief in the public schools. School Psychology International , 22, 337-356.
30.
Rogers, M.R., & O’Byron, E.C. (2008). Advocating for social justice: The context for change in school psychology. School Psychology Review, 37, 493-498.
31.
Russoniello, C.V., Slalko, T.K., O’Brien, K., McGhee, S.A., Bingham-Alexander, D., & Beatley, J. ( 2002). Childhood posttraumatic stress disorder and efforts to cope after Hurricane Floyd. Behavioral Medicine, 28, 61-71.
32.
Salloum, A., & Overstreet, S. (2008). Evaluation of individual and group grief and trauma interventions for children post-disaster. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 495-507.
33.
Scheeringa, M.S., & Zeanah, C.H. ( 2008). Reconsideration of harm’s way: Onsets and comorbidity patterns of disorders in preschool children and their caregivers following Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37, 509-518.
34.
Shaw, J.A., Applegate, B., & Schorr, C. ( 1996). Twenty-one month follow-up study of school age children exposed to Hurricane Andrew. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 359-364.
35.
Shaw, J.A., Applegate, B., Tanner, S., Perez, D., Rothe, E., Campo-Bowen, A., & Lahey, B.L. ( 1995). Psychological effects of Hurricane Andrew on an elementary school population. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1185-1192.
36.
Shelby, J.S., & Tredinnick, M.G. (1995). Crisis intervention with survivors of natural disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Andrew. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 491-497.
37.
Stein, B. ( 1997). Community reactions to disaster: An emerging role for the school psychologist. School Psychology International, 18, 99-118.
38.
Stephan, S.H., Weist, M., Kataoka, S., Adelsheim, C., & Mills, C. ( 2007). Transformation of children’s mental health services: The role of school mental health. Psychiatric Services, 58, 1330-1338.
39.
Strein, W., Hoagwood, K., & Cohn, A. ( 2003). School psychology: A public health perspective I. Prevention, populations, and systems change. Journal of School Psychology , 41, 23-38.
40.
Sullivan, E., & Morgan, D. ( 2010). Pushed out: Harsh discipline in Louisiana schools denies the right to education. Families and friends of Louisiana’s incarcerated children and national economic and social rights initiative. Retrieved from http://www.nesri.org/fact_sheets_pubs/Pushed_Out_Report.pdf
41.
Taylor, T.L., & Chemtob, C.M. ( 2004). Efficacy of treatment for child and adolescent traumatic stress. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 158, 786-791.
42.
The Boston Consulting Group (2007). The state of public education in New Orleans. Boston, MA : Author.
43.
US Army Corps of Engineers (2006). Performance evaluation of the New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Protection System: Draft final report of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force. Vol. 5, Retrieved on May 25, 2008, from http://ipet.wes.army.mil/
44.
US Department of Health and Human Services ( 1999). Mental health: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health .
45.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development ( 2006). Current housing unit damage estimates: Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Retrieved on May 15, 2008, from www.gnocdc.org/reports/Katrina_Rita_Wilma_Damage_2_12_06___revised.pdf
46.
Vernberg, E.M., LaGreca, A.M., Silverman, W.K., & Prinstein, M.J. (1996). Prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after Hurricane Andrew. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 237-248.
47.
Weems, C., & Overstreet, S. (2008). Child and adolescent mental health research in the context of Hurricane Katrina: An ecological needs-based perspective and introduction to the special section. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 487-894.
48.
Weems, C.F., Taylor, L.K., Cannon, M.F., Marino, R.C., Romano, D.M., Scott, B., Perry, A.M., & Triplett, V. ( 2010). Posttraumatic stress, context, and the lingering effects of the Hurricane Katrina disaster among ethnic minority youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 49-56.
49.
Weisler, R.H., Barbee, J.G., & Townsend, M.H. (2006). Mental health and recovery in the Gulf Coast after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296, 585-588.
50.
Ysseldyke, J., Burns, M., Dawson, P., Kelley, B., Morrison, D., Ortiz, S., Rosenfield, S., & Telzrow, C. ( 2006). School psychology: A blueprint for training and practice III. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
51.
Zins, J.E., Bloodworth, M.R., Weissberg, R.P., & Walberg, H.J. ( 2004). The scientific base linking social and emotional learning to school success. In J. Zins, R. Weissberg, M. Wang , & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? (pp. 3-22). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
