is focus of conference
A conference titled "The Terror of Terrorism and Disaster: Planning, Response and Recovery," designed to help reduce the psychological impact of terror and disaster, will take place March 20 and 21 at the School of Medicine.
The event is hosted by the City of New Haven's Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), The National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (NCCEV) at the Yale Child Study Center and the Department of Psychiatry.
"The Terror of Terrorism and Disaster" will feature talks by NCCEV and Department of Psychiatry researchers as well as officials from the United States and Israeli governments.
The conference will be held 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Monday, March 20, in the Yale New Haven Health System Institute for Excellence Auditorium, 300 George St. It will continue on Tuesday, March 21, with a look at "School-Based Disaster Response: The Tel-Aviv Model" at the Yale Child Study Center Cohen Auditorium, 230 South Frontage Rd.
Conference presenters -- including J. Robert Flores, administrator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention -- will discuss ways to develop mental health disaster plans on the local level. The goal is to increase the capacity of municipalities and businesses to clarify functions, roles and activities that will better prepare them to meet all aspects of critical events that have implications for the behavioral health of citizens in the wake of any disastrous/mass-casualty incident.
According to conference organizers, the chaos that follows natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks can severely impede municipal and professional caregivers from working in tandem to re-establish order and safety and to reduce anxiety. The conference organizers plan to develop integrated partnerships before disasters occur to enhance their ability to react. There is an emerging appreciation of psychological reactions on the management of disaster and terrorist events. An Israeli model will be presented that integrates behavioral health perspectives with practical approaches to dealing with the terror of terrorism and disaster. The conference presentations will help stimulate discussion and promote further planning of UASI strategies in local communities.
The conference will kick off a year-long project designed to raise awareness about the need for psychological disaster management within the community. Participants will work with the community to provide technical assistance in developing plans and templates that incorporate mental health as a component in emergency operations plans.
In addition to Flores, conference speakers include two officials from the Cohen-Harris Center for Trauma and Disaster Intervention: Nathaniel Laor, director, and Leo Wolmer, director of research. Other speakers will be Smadar Spirman, director of the city of Tel-Aviv Emergency Treatment Services; Steven Marans, director of NCCEV; Dr. Stephen Bunney, chair of Yale's Department of Psychiatry; Steven Berkowitz, medical director of NCCEV; Craig Newton, Yale-New Haven Hospital; Leonard Barbieri, UASI program director at the NCCEV; John Burtula, chief administrative officer of the City of New Haven; and Wayne Dailey, assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine.
For further information on the conference, contact Sharon Reynolds at (203) 785-7047 or sharon.reynolds@yale.edu.
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