School community in disaster: Planning for intervention

Abstract

Psychologists' intervention in school disasters, as well as in community disasters affecting a school population, entails a major departure from their traditional role. This article presents a preliminary model for disaster intervention in schools, reconceptualized from the preventive model (Caplan, 1964) underlying community mental health intervention and modified to meet the specific needs of the school organization in disaster. The implementation of the model's principles is outlined, and the implications for communitybased intervention are discussed.

A school-based emergency crisis intervention in a mass school disaster.

“…The crisis described in this article is one that confronted a mass population not directly involved in the accident itself. It offered many opportunities for putting into effect and observing the implementation of a model for preventive intervention in mass disasters (Klingman, in press; Klingman & Ben Eli, 1981). The situation of collective stress encountered required that the populations as well as the mental health services involved adapt to the particular transitory event.…”

“…Children whose speech was electively or selectively withheld were referred to the creativity room, where expressive therapy was made available. About 40 pupils visited the creativity room, where they were encouraged to express their feelings through drawings, collages, poems, and free writing (Klingman, 1985, in press; Klingman, Koenigsfeld, & Markman, 1987).…”

“…The conventional forms of crisis intervention are applicable to many crisis situations (Aguilera & Messick, 1978; Greenstone & Leviton, 1982; Slaikeu, 1984). However, a disaster on a large scale that strikes a whole community, or a significant part of a community, entails a number of special circumstances that must be approached within an organizational framework appropriate to emergencies and requires being dealt with in an unorthodox way (Babad & Salomon, 1978; Caplan, 1964; Klingman, 1978, in press; Lazarus, 1976; Sank, 1979).…”

International Community Psychology

“…These principles are also strongly related to the ideas of CP, which refer to the utilization of existing individual and community resources. Klingman's (1988) model consists of four stages: the anticipatory preparation stage, the impact stage, the short-term adaptation stage, and the longterm adaptation stage (see also Klingman, 1989). Thus, many schools have taken on the responsibility for crisis intervention, and especially preventive intervention.…”

Crisis counseling: An overview

“…Sometimes a reaction to a traumatic event will be culturally appropriate but will seem to western eyes to be a breakdown of ordinary coping. Extreme outward expression of grief by wailing and crying followed by self-mutilation and threats of suicide following the death of a loved one may be normal coping behavior expected of a survivor in a particular culture (Klingman, 1986). A cultural informant will be useful in indicating what normal reactions to various traumatic events are for a particular culture.…”