In FDNY Crisis Counseling, the authors describe the theory and practice of the FDNY's crisis counseling program. The book's approach is a multidisciplinary case study approach that teaches readers how to implement these teachings in their own communities or practices.
Natural and human-made disasters appear to be increasing in frequency and scope, commanding extensive media attention. Growing sensitivity to issues of preparedness and community response has created a greater interest among academics and practitioners. The Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, mudslides in Brazil, earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Japan, Turkey, China, and other countries have garnered worldwide notice. Human-made disasters, such as terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center or in Oklahoma City, Spain, England, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan, and various other countries, or attacks on schoolchildren in places such as Columbine and various communities in China, send shockwaves throughout societies. This book addresses the development of long-term interventions following disasters, emphasizing disadvantaged communities. Attention is given to the role of change agents, such as local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and psychosocial professionals, to ensure that the window of opportunity is realized, generating immediate help and sustained community development.
After a traumatic experience, we are told time and time again to take care of ourselves and reach out to the people we love. But what happens when you reach out and your partner can't reach back? This book is for people in relationships where either partner has faced trauma in any of its forms: violence, natural disasters, war, life-threatening accidents, crime, health problems, or loss of a loved one. One or both partners can use Healing Together to recover from trauma or help their partner recover by understanding the impact of trauma, learning to communicate their needs, managing anger, dealing with traumatic memories, recapturing lost intimacy, and recognizing their resiliency as a couple. The practical, step-by-step program presented in this guide is inspired and informed by the authors' clinical experiences with patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and their work with firefighters and their partners in the aftermath of 9/11. In the wake of tragedy, this book can help you build a resilient relationship and move forward with compassion, hope, and love. Healing Together is a beautiful book... an invaluable resource that will help couples face their traumas together. -Sue Johnson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at University of Ottawa and author of Hold Me Tight
Grounded in clinical research, extensive experience, and deep familiarity with police culture, this book offers highly practical guidance for psychotherapists and counselors. The authors vividly depict the pressures and challenges of police work and explain the impact that line-of-duty issues can have on officers and their loved ones. Numerous concrete examples and tips show how to build rapport with cops, use a range of effective intervention strategies, and avoid common missteps and misconceptions. Approaches to working with frequently encountered clinical problems--such as substance abuse, depression, trauma, and marital conflict--are discussed in detail. A new preface in the paperback and e-book editions highlights the book's relevance in the context of current events and concerns about police-community relations. See also Kirschman's related self-help guide I Love a Cop, Third Edition: What Police Families Need to Know, an ideal recommendation for clients and their family members.
"This second edition of I Love a Fire Fighter is, like the first, intended to raise awareness of the psychological consequences of being a fire service family. It is my objective to describe the subtle and obvious ways the demands of this unique occupation spill over to home and to suggest strategies that you-as a parent, a child, a sibling, a spouse, a friend, or a significant other-can use to manage the spillover and/or learn to live with it"--
New York Times Bestseller From the first FDNY chief to respond to the 9/11 attacks, an intimate memoir and a tribute to those who died that others might live When Chief Joe Pfeifer led his firefighters to investigate an odor of gas in downtown Manhattan on the morning of 9/11, he had no idea that his life was about to change forever. A few moments later, he watched as the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Pfeifer, the closest FDNY chief to the scene, spearheaded rescue efforts on one of the darkest days in American history. Ordinary Heroes is the unforgettable and intimate account of what Chief Pfeifer witnessed at Ground Zero, on that day and the days that followed. Through his eyes, we see the horror of the attack and the courage of the firefighters who ran into the burning towers to save others. We see him send his own brother up the stairs of the North Tower, never to return. And we walk with him and his fellow firefighters through weeks of rescue efforts and months of numbing grief, as they wrestle with the real meaning of heroism and leadership. This gripping narrative gives way to resiliency and a determination that permanently reshapes Pfeifer, his fellow firefighters, NYC, and America. Ordinary Heroes takes us on a journey that turns traumatic memories into hope, so we can make good on our promise to never forget 9/11.
This book integrates Western mental health approaches and international models of psychosocial capacity building within a social ecology framework, providing practitioners and volunteers with a blueprint for individual, family, group, and community interventions. Joshua L. Miller focuses on a range of disasters at local, regional, national, and international levels. Global case studies explore the social, psychological, economic, political, and cultural issues affecting various reactions to disaster and illustrate the importance of drawing on local cultural practices to promote empowerment and resiliency. Miller encourages developing people's capacity to direct their own recovery, using a social ecology framework to conceptualize disasters and their consequences. He also considers sources of vulnerability and how to support individual, family, and community resiliency; adapt and implement traditional disaster mental health interventions in different contexts; use groups and activities to facilitate recovery as part of a larger strategy of psychosocial capacity building; and foster collective grieving and memorializing. Miller's text examines the unique dynamics of intergroup conflict and the relationship between psychosocial healing, social justice, and peace and reconciliation.
"From personal interviews with chaplains at the temporary mortuary at Ground Zero and her own experiences as an Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and chaplain, Storm Swain offers a new model of pastoral care grounded in theology and practice. Reflecting on experiences of suffering faced in ministry, Swain considers what it means to love in these instances and what is involved in ministering in these contexts. Within this model, caregivers can move from a place of trauma to a place of transformation, which enables wholeness and healing for both caregivers and those for whom they care" -- Publisher description.
Generation Disaster: Coming of Age Post-9/11 focuses on the numerous stressors that have had an impact on today's emerging adults including climate change, school shootings, economic recession, and of course, the national trauma of 9/11. Disaster mental health expert Karla Vermeulen draws on a combination of statistics, academic sources, and her own original research, including results from a nationally representative survey, to examine these challenges as they are experienced by emerging adults who continue to fight for their future. The result is a corrective to previous works that dismiss "kids today" as fragile or entitled, and instead emphasizes the generation's strength in the face of unprecedented uncertainties and obstacles.
A fascinating text that addresses the clinical and educational challenges of treating psychiatric patients from a truly multidisciplinary perspective using a case-based format, Approach to the Psychiatric Patient: Case-Based Essays is the only book of its kind and an indispensable addition to the mental health practitioner's library. The new edition builds upon the strengths that distinguished the first, with composite cases that are carefully constructed to capture real-world problems, followed by essays that provide clear and cogent perspectives on the case. These essays cover a wide range, from the more conventional (such as differential diagnosis of anxiety or the clinical characteristics of delirium) to the unusual and intriguing (such as creativity and mental illness or an analysis of the case in relation to the classic, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Every chapter has been revised, and the book boasts many new co-contributors, as well as the addition of completely new essays. For example, in the chapter on geriatric depression, several new essays have been added on the topics of collaborative care and the embedded psychiatrist, depression and medical illness, and biomarkers to identify depression subtypes, while the chapter on terminal illness features new essays on spirituality and meaning-centered therapy. In addition, there are new essays on co-occurring anxiety and alcohol use disorders, medication assisted treatment for stimulant use, treatment of body dysmorphic disorder, and more.The text possesses many useful attributes for the reader: The more than 100 essays were written by a broad range of specialists, each with particular expertise in their aspect of the case, and the resulting commentary is focused and concise. In addition to the case and discussions, each chapter offers an overview and summary points designed to facilitate further consideration of the patient and clinical situation and to focus on the key points. The book's unique structure enhances its flexibility, allowing the reader to read a case and accompanying essays straight through, or to pick and choose as the need or whim arises. The cases' clinical settings are diverse, ranging from inpatient hospitalizations and emergency room evaluations to outpatient assessments and long-term psychotherapies, maximizing relevance and resonance. Each essay has its own bibliography, which provides both rigorous documentation and additional sources for more exploration of the topic. Approach to the Psychiatric Patient: Case-Based Essays distinguishes itself from prior texts in both the richness of its cases and the ingenuity of its format, and its multidisciplinary wisdom and insight will be appreciated by a wide range of readers.