Volume 38 · Number 2
FEBRUARY 2008
First Responder Culture: Implications for Mental Health Professionals Providing Services Following a Natural Disaster
By Mindy Kronenberg, PhD; Howard J. Osofsky, MD, PhD; Joy D. Osofsky, PhD; Michele Many, LCSW; Melissa Hardy, GSW; James Arey, PhD, LPC
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005. The storm surge caused multiple levee breaches and left 80% of New Orleans and most of St. Bernard Parish underwater. Metropolitan New Orleans was in a state of chaos. First responders worked in the streets and at shelters of last resort to provide care for the remaining citizens. They engaged in crowd control, dealt with looting and gunfire incidents, and focused on rescue and recovery. During this time, all communication systems failed. First responders had no radio or telephone contact and were left isolated without backup. Multiple first responders described New Orleans and St. Bernard as “war zone(s).” Several first responders, who were also military veterans, reflected that the experience was worse than that which they had endured in Vietnam or Iraq.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Mindy Kronenberg, PhD; Howard J. Osofsky, MD, PhD; Michele Many, LCSW; and Melissa Hardy, GSW, are with the Department of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Joy D. Osofsky, PhD, is with the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. James Arey, PhD, LPC, is Commander, New Orleans Police Department SWAT Negotiation Team.
Address correspondence to: Mindy Kronenberg, PhD; e-mail mkrone@lsuhsc.edu.
Dr. Kronenberg, Dr. Howard Osofsky, Ms. Many, Ms. Hardy, Dr. Joy Osofsky, and Dr. Arey have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
- Assess why a culturally sensitive approach is important in providing mental health treatment to first responders.
- Identify key elements of post-disaster mental health treatment for first responders.
- Discuss specific interventions utilized for first responders following Hurricane Katrina.
To Human Resilience
Jan Fawcett, MD
Long-term Psychiatric Consequences of Hurricane Katrina
Harold M. Ginzburg, MD, JD, MPH
Psychiatric Disorders among Transported Hurricane Evacuees: Acute-phase Findings in a Large Receiving Shelter Site
Carol S. North, MD, MPE;
Richard V. King, PhD;
Raymond L. Fowler, MD, FACEP;
Peter Polatin, MD, MPH;
Rebecca P. Smith, MD;
H. Alan LaGrone, MD, PhD;
David Tyler, MD;
G. Luke Larkin, MD, MS, MSPH;
Paul E. Pepe, MD, MPH
A Review of Mental Health Issues as a Result of Hurricane Katrina
Mordecai N. Potash, MD;
Daniel K. Winstead, MD
Katrina Survivors Relocated to Oklahoma: A Tale of Two Cities
Phebe Tucker, MD;
Betty Pfefferbaum, MD, JD;
Qaiser Khan, MPH;
M. Jan Young, MD;
Christopher E. Aston, PhD;
Janell Holmes, BS;
Kim A. Coon, EdD;
Jamie Thompson
Did the Prevalence of PTSD Following Hurricane Katrina Match a Rapid Needs Assessment Prediction? A Template for Future Public Planning After Large-Scale Disasters
Richard Dalton, MD;
Michael S. Scheeringa, MD, MPH;
Charles H. Zeanah, MD
New Orleans Medical Students post-Katrina — an Assessment of Psychopathology and Anticipatory Transference of Resilience
Harold M. Ginzburg, MD, JD, MPH;
David J. Bateman
Physician-Psychiatrists’ Role in Disaster Response Efforts
Nicholas G. Pejic, MD;
Harold M. Ginzburg, MD, JD, MPH
