APA pledges financial assistance and psychological expertise regarding trauma to the Southeast Asia tsunami relief effort.

"In a catastrophe of such overwhelming proportions, the discipline of psychology with its interest and expertise in human welfare, can't stand on the sidelines," says APA Past-President Ronald F. Levant, EdD.

In response to the disaster in Southeast Asia, the American Psychological Association (APA) has donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross and pledges to disseminate information on the psychological effects of trauma to aid in relief efforts for survivors of the Dec. 26 tsunami that ripped across Southeast Asia and eastern parts of Africa.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake that shook the Indian Ocean floor sent waves crashing over communities, washing away entire cities and leaving millions homeless and a death toll estimated at more than 147,000 and growing.

On January 6, the APA Board of Directors acted to allocate finances and resources to assist in relief efforts, such as making information available to help survivors understand the psychological trauma, grief and loss and nature of depression caused by such an event.

According to APA CEO Dr. Norman Anderson, the Association took the unprecedented action of making a substantial financial contribution to the relief effort because of the magnitude of the disaster and the degree of human suffering. "Clearly, the APA financial donation is designed to address the greatest need at this time. But we also wanted to respond to the disaster in ways that are unique to psychology, "says Anderson.

The Association and its members have a long history of lending assistance when disasters occur in the United States. Psychologists helped victims in the aftermath of earlier disasters, such as assisting in relief efforts during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as helping victims in tornados, hurricanes and other such natural disasters.

"We want to make psychologists' expertise available in useful and helpful ways," says Rhea Farberman, the executive director of APA's Public and Member Communications Office. "APA wanted to find a way to help in the tragedy since psychologists have expertise and a history of helping victims of domestic disasters, but we also recognized the special challenges of providing assistance in countries and cultures not familiar to many of our members," Farberman says. As such, a number of the APA responses are based on APA reaching out to psychological associations within or close to affected countries to lend whatever assistance is needed.

While the present need among survivors is food and shelter, Levant says: "Clearly, it's not going to be long before the mental health needs come to the forefront. And there will be an overwhelming need for mental health services in an area that has few resources in mental health."

As such, APA--the world's largest psychological association--approved an eight-point response to assist in relief efforts. In addition to the Association's donation to the Red Cross Tsunami Relief fund, the APA will:

• Remain in contact with the American Red Cross regarding the role APA's Disaster Response Network (DRN) and types of assistance psychologists can provide to survivors. The DRN boasts a national database of more than 2,000 volunteer psychologists who are trained in disaster response to offer assistance and emotional support to victims and their families and relief workers. Psychologists can be searched through the database by location, language skills, type of disaster experience and specialty areas.

• Recommend that the American Red Cross collaborate with APA and the DRN to provide assistance to Southeast Asian people within the United States who may have been affected by the tsunami, such as those with family members who may have died or are missing.

• Coordinate APA relief activities with partner organizations that may have more expertise in handling international issues or working with the affected populations. Levant says it's crucial that the mental health services offered be linguistically and culturally relevant to the region. To do that, APA may need to link with such partners as the International Union of Psychological Science or IUPsyS; the Asian-American Psychological Association; or the affected countries' psychological associations.

• Assemble and disseminate information and resources on the current knowledge about trauma response. APA will make resources available electronically to local psychologists and psychology groups in the affected countries.

• Educate people both in the United States and worldwide through the dissemination of press releases and other media materials about the possible effects of traumatic events and how to recover from them.

• Make materials available--such as via APA's Web site (www.apa.org and http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=69)--to inform and update APA members and the public about APA's response to the tsunami crisis and psychologists expertise on trauma, coping and resilience after natural disasters. The information includes tips for adults and children on recovering from natural disasters, managing traumatic stress and building resilience.

• Tap APA's media referral service to provide the media with psychologists who can speak on the psychological affects created by the tsunami.