Main description:

Mass trauma events, such as natural disasters, war and torture, affect millions of people every year. Currently, there is no mental health care model with the potential to address the psychological needs of survivors in a cost-effective way. This book presents such a model, along with guidance on its implementation, making it invaluable for both policy-makers and mental health professionals. Building on more than twenty years of extensive research with mass trauma survivors, the authors present a model of traumatic stress to aid understanding of mass trauma and how its psychological impact can be overcome with control-focused behavioral treatment. This text offers a critical review of various controversial issues in the field of psychological trauma in light of recent research findings. Including two structured manuals on earthquake trauma, covering treatment delivery and self-help, the book will be of use to survivors themselves as well as care providers.

Contents:

Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. Theory: 1. A learning theory formulation of earthquake trauma; 2. A learning theory formulation of torture and war trauma; Part II. Assessment and Treatment: 3. Assessment; 4. Control-focused behavioural treatment; 5. Assessment and treatment of prolonged grief; 6. An overview of treatment efficacy and mechanisms of recovery; Part III. Implications for Care of Mass Trauma Survivors: 7. A mental health care model for earthquake survivors; 8. Issues in care of mass trauma survivors; 9. Controversies in rehabilitation of torture and war survivors; Appendix I. Questionnaires; Appendix II. Helping people recover from earthquake trauma: control-focused behavioural treatment delivery manual; Appendix III. Self-help manual for earthquake trauma; Index.