Therapists help with Philippine typhoon mental health

Posted on November 15, 2013

Dozens of psychologists were starting work in the typhoon-raked Philippines Wednesday to help dazed survivors deal with the psychological fallout of one of the country's worst ever disasters.

The operation is an early attempt by health professionals to head off what they fear could be serious problems down the road, even as the physical scars from the tragedy begin to heal.

A 55-member team of psychologists from the health department arrived in Tacloban on Tuesday to help some of the city's 220,000 inhabitants deal with the disaster, which is feared to have cost as many as 10,000 lives.

Stories of almost unimaginable tragedy abound in Tacloban, a place where parents have been forced to abandon the bodies of their children as they struggle to hold on to their own shattered lives.

Those who have the strength are trying to flee the stench of death that hangs in the city; others wander its broken streets, dazed by the magnitude of the horror they have confronted.

Nedy Tayag, a clinical psychologist for the health department, told AFP that behaviour being exhibited by the typhoon survivors was typical among those confronted by massive disasters or destructive conflict.

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Category(s):Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) / Trauma / Complex PTSD

Source material from AFP