Disaster Relief Information Home Page

Bibliography - Guidelines
Organizations involved with Disaster Relief / that Collaborate with Psychologists
Contacts in SE Asia
Reports, Events, Personal Accounts

Bibliography - Guidelines

Mental Health and Mass Violence: Evidence Based Early Psychological Interventions for Victims/Survivors of Mass Violence. NIMH 2002. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/massviolence_intervention.cfm
(There is a pdf file at that link with a 123 page document. Especially useful are Appendix A, which gives the key components of early intervention, and Appendix B, which gives guidance on the timing of interventions. This report was assembled by 58 disaster mental health experts from 6 countries. Some of the report is quite academic, but the essentials are excellent.)

Sphere Handbook, revised edition
http://www.sphereproject.org/handbook/index.htm
This document sets out the humanitarian charter and minimum standards for disaster response. It is practical and gives clear directives. See especially Chapter 5, Section 3's subsection on Mental and Social Aspects of Health, for good explanations of psychological first aid and community based interventions appropriate for the setting.

Managing Traumatic Stress: Tips for Recovering From Natural Disasters
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=69

Organizations involved with Disaster Relief / that Collaborate with Psychologists

Doctors without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/volunteer/field/

UN Volunteer Office (The UN Volunteer office is interested in volunteers of all disciplines, including psychologists/counseling. Psychologists can register by sending a CV to tsunami@unvolunteers.org. This office has been in close contact with concerned UNDP Country Offices and the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery to relocate currently serving UN Volunteers with disaster management expertise to the affected areas. For general information see www.unvolunteers.org.

World Volunteer Web, with special coverage of the tsunami disaster has links to organizations needing volunteers' help in many areas. www.worldvolunteerweb.org/dynamic/cfapps/news/tsunami.cfm.

APA Disaster Response Network http://www.apa.org/practice/drnindex.html

American Red Cross; International Policy and Relations Office: 202-303-5211; postmaster@usa.redcross.org; Web: http://www.redcross.org (Vice-President, International Services: Gerald R. Jones; Senior Director, International Policy and Relations: Brian Majewski; Senior Director, International Relief and Development: Edward Tschan)

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Foundations; http://www.ifrc.org/index.asp

Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf

World Health Organization www.who.org.int/en/

Information from Psychology Associations

American Psychological Association (APA)
Australian Psychological Society
Danish Psychological Association (in Danish)
German Psychological Association (information and help line - in German)
Singapore Psychological Association

Reports, Events, Personal Accounts
Letter from Thailand
News report from Israel
Conference at the UN
Consultation, India