National Disaster Mental Health Training Program
Under the auspices of the VA's Emergency Medical Preparedness Office (EMPO), the Strategic Healthcare Group for Mental Health (represented by VA's National Center for PTSD) along with the Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) are developing a national cadre of VA Medical Center (VAMC) and RCS mental health personnel prepared to respond to regional and national disasters.
A joint Mental Health/RCS Disaster Mental Health Response Team will be trained within each Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN). The disaster mental health response services provided by each team will be in conformance with the Stress Management Annex prepared for the EMPO Operations Manual by the VA's Strategic Healthcare Group for Mental Health and the National Center for PTSD.
Training for participants in the VA Disaster Mental Health Response cadre will be done by a team of expert trainers, under the joint leadership of the VA's National Center for PTSD and RCS. The training will include two components: An advanced Disaster Mental Health Response curriculum using the National Center for PTSD's Guide to Disaster Mental Health (which was field tested at the 1995 Federal Disaster Exercise) The nationally sponsored and approved American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services training module
The training will enable each participating VAMC/RCS station to establish an Emergency Mental Health Team of professionals and peers, adapting the Critical Incident model. Qualified VAMC and RCS personnel who have completed this 4-day training also will be screened intensively based upon standards developed by the National Center for PTSD, including extensive peer review for disaster mental health qualifications. A small number of highly qualified and prepared VAMC and RCS professionals from each VISN will be selected to serve as members of primary and backup Disaster Mental Health Response teams from each VISN.
The first of a national series of trainings was conducted February 3-6, 1997, in Dallas, Texas. It was coordinated and co-sponsored by the National Center for PTSD, RCS, the VA Employee Education Network, and the American Red Cross. Additional trainings have been requested for FY 1997 by several VISNs, to enable VAMC and RCS staff to jointly develop Disaster Mental Health Response teams both for local incidents and to participate in a VISN-wide team capable of being deployed nationally.
Eligibility
This training is offered to employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VAMC and RCS mental health personnel are the primary intended audience, although other qualified mental health personnel may attend by special permission.
VAMC and RCS personnel who are licensed for independent practice in a mental health discipline may register for the training. Preference is given to clinicians who have completed the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services I Training and who are registered with the Red Cross's Disaster Health Services Registry. Introductory training in critical incident response techniques, and actual experience in critical incident responding (e.g., debriefing local disaster or critical incident survivors or rescue workers) is recommended but not required.
Requesting Training
We recommend that requests for training be made by an existing or newly forming Critical Incident/Disaster Mental Health team, rather than by individuals. Contact Nadine Ward at the Salt Lake City VA Employee Education Center, (801) 584-1283, to request a team training slot on the forthcoming training calendar.
For more information on the National Disaster Mental Health Training and Certification Program, contact the training coordinators: Bruce Young, L.C.S.W ( 650) 493-5000, dial 1, then ext. 22494 bhh@icon.palo-alto.med.va.gov
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