Main description:

Written by prominent proponents of disaster mental health and/or positive psychology, this comprehensive book examines disaster mental health and positive psychology in the context of natural and technological disasters. Chapters in the first section focus on applications of meaning and resilience in the area of disaster mental health, both serving as primary examples of applications of positive psychology and related frameworks. Later chapters focus more specifically on key aspects of disaster mental health, including the importance of preparedness, training, and special populations. Contributors consistently align their insights with positive psychological approaches, either by explicitly referencing their relevance or alluding less directly to themes in positive psychology.

Among the topics discussed:

The role of religion and spirituality in finding meaning after disasters
Veterans and disaster response work
Firefighters: an occupational case study of resilience
Strategies for responding to adolescents following natural and technological disasters
Effective crisis response for facilitating posttraumatic growth

Positive Psychological Approaches to Disaster: Meaning, Resilience, and Posttraumatic Growth is a significant and timely collection of research, representing an effort of internationally respected scholars in positive psychology and disaster mental health.

Contents:

Resilience and Recovery Following Disasters: The Meaning Making Model.- Religion, Spirituality, and Meaning in the Wake of Disasters.- Reconciling Disaster and Deity: Trauma, Spirituality, and Growth in the Context of Natural and Technological Disasters.- Veterans and Disaster Response Work: The Role of Continued Service in Meaning Making and Recovery.- The Hero's Journey to Resilience and Thriving in the Context of Disaster.- Firefighters: An Occupational Case Study of Resilience.- Responding to Adolescents Following Natural and Technological Disasters: The Essential Nature of Hope.- Strengths and Application of Response Team vs. Community-Based Models of Psychological First Aid.- Posttraumatic Growth After Disasters.- Facilitating Posttraumatic Growth in the Wake of Natural Disasters: Considerations for Crisis Response.- The Disaster Sciences Interdisciplinary Minor at the University of Mississippi: Positive Psychology in Action.- Afterword: The Other Shore.