Post-Katrina Syndrome

Storm stressed
August brings a flood of bad memories and waves of dread. But overall, local therapists say, our collective post-K psyche is improving. Monday, August 04, 2008By Diana Samuels
After two hurricane seasons without a direct hit from a serious storm, local mental health experts say that Hurricane Katrina-related anxieties have begun to fade, though some psychological effects still linger.

Social worker J. Chris Barrilleaux says he sees fewer cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, and more clients suffering from depression as they continue to be bogged down with insurance hassles, home repairs and other obstacles to the full restoration of their pre-hurricane lives.

"The inability to finalize, to put closure on an event, brings depression," Barrilleaux said.

It can help simply to talk through feelings and understand the reasons behind the depression, he said.

Social worker Kelley Lockhart-Delaune said many of her clients come to her with issues such as marital or drug problems, but "we sort of find out . . . it is Katrina-related."

Children also have buried some of their Katrina-related emotions now that people don't talk about the storm as much, said Dr. Douglas Faust, director of the psychology department at New Orleans' Children's Hospital. Faust described a "Post-Katrina Syndrome" -- the feelings are there, but it's "sub-clinical" and not quite post-traumatic stress disorder.

"What you've got is a bunch of people who aren't having active thoughts about the storm," Faust said, "but it takes very little to destabilize them."
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