Disaster Psychiatry: Readiness, Evaluation, and Treatment

Edited by Frederick J Stoddard JR MD, Craig L Katz MD, and Grant H Brenner MD

SECOND EDITION

More than 10 years after the first edition was published—and spurred in part by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which turned nearly all mental health professionals into de facto disaster mental health professionals—this second edition of Disaster Psychiatry remains a clinically oriented, evidence-based, and practical guide to mental health evaluation and interventions against the backdrop of adversity.

Over the course of 21 extensively referenced chapters, a cadre of experienced mental health professionals takes a biopsychosocial approach to explaining what a disaster is, how it relates to mental health, and how psychiatrists and other mental health professionals can effectively intervene to reduce suffering. Among the topics they discuss are:

  • The practice of psychiatry in the context of climate change

  • The role of technology, including social media, mobile apps, and artificial intelligence, in the disaster cycle

  • Self-care for disaster responders and health care workers

  • Psychiatric evaluations of children, adolescents, and adults, as well as of special populations that include LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups

  • Psychopharmacology in acute and post-acute disaster settings

  • Psychiatric interventions for infants, children and adolescents and geriatric patients