Treating trauma - Risks of debriefing after disaster

I am alive and pretty well balanced because without knowing it, my family did debriefing every time there was a crisis. They were there to listen. That's the point of crisis teams showing up after a crisis. They are there to listen and let people talk to someone without having to worry about hearing a judgment, having their feelings dismissed or hearing someone tell them they have all the answers. Crisis teams are there to take care of immediate needs including the need to talk, cry and let it out. The crisis teams are not there to force anyone to talk but there for the people who feel the need to be comforted this way. There is also a residual effect when they see others being comforted. It allows them to seek it for themselves.

This article seems to miss this point as it goes far to show that there are risks of debriefing but the risks come when people are not trained properly and they can do more harm than good. There is also the risk to the responder. Deploying into one crisis after another can leave them being drained and often they need to talk to someone too but good trainers and team leaders already have someone in place for them to connect with.

Treating trauma - Risks of debriefing after disaster
By Natasha Mitchell

The church in Carisbrook shows how high the water rose in town (ABC Ballarat: Brad Barber)

Last week's floods have brought devastation to thousands of Queenslanders, and now Victorian homes are going under.

The stories of loss and survival emerging from close-knit communities in the Lockyer valley, in towns like Grantham and Ipswich are confronting and sobering, as people describe hanging on for dear life to trees, rooftops and each other as floodwaters pushed past them with the force of an "inland tsunami". People are still missing, some ripped from the arms of loved ones, and search and rescue teams are steeling themselves for grizzly discoveries amidst the rubble and receding waters.

"Mum and dad are beautiful people, and we're still in shock we've lost them", Sarah Norman told ABC News, after both of her parents perished, their bodies swept to their final resting place two kilometres from their Spring Bluff home, near Murphy's Creek. "It was heartbreaking, but we just believe they were together and God has his hands on all of this".

Sarah shared her story on camera with quiet clarity and without the raw emotion you might expect, but her muted stare gave it away - this was a woman in shock. Surreal, numbing, stunned shock.

After the deluge, our natural inclination is to want to help people deal with this shock, and fast.

Help comes in many forms, both material and emotional. Donating to the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Fund is one way, or registering with Volunteering Queensland to lend a hand is another, offering people temporary shelter, helping families sort through the stinking mud and debris for precious hints of life as it was, and reaching out with open arms and hearts to those who have lost everything.

Next we want to send in the psychologists and counsellors, and understandably so. Talking through the hell that's happened will help, won't it? It makes sense and sounds right for professionals to get in early and help us bear witness to our own trauma, doesn't it?
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Treating trauma - Risks of debriefing after disaster