Lessons Learned in Disaster Mental Health

Armen K. Goenjian is a Full Research Psychiatrist at UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, Chief Medical Officer at Collaborative Neuroscience Network and Consultant at the UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. He is also Director of the Psychiatric Outreach Program for Armenia. Alan M. Steinberg is Associate Director of the UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. Robert S. Pynoos is Co-Director of the UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Director of the UCLA Trauma Psychiatry Program, and Distinguished Professor at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine.

• 1. The 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia and the implementation of the psychiatric outreach program Armen Goenjian; 2. Diaspora therapists working in the earthquake zone Armen Goenjian; 3. Treatment outcome among early adolescents two decades post-earthquake Armen Goenjian, Alan Steinberg, Robert Pynoos; 4. Course and predictors of PTSD and depression among not treated children and adolescents over two decades Armen Goenjian, Alan Steinberg, Robert Pynoos; 5. Conscience, moral injury, and Psychopathology Barbara Stilwell, Matthew Galvin; 6. Natural disasters and relocation Louis M. Najarian, David Pelcovitz; 7. Long-term course of PTSD and depression among adults and current trends for treatment Armen Goenjian, Alan Steinberg, Robert Pynoos; 8. How the Spitak earthquake contributed to our understanding of the genetics of PTSD and associated disorders Julie Bailey, Armen Goenjian; 9. Epidemiology of disasters and the Spitak earthquake Vahe Khachadourian, Haroutune K. Armenian; 10. Traumatic stress conceptual framework Alan Steinberg, Robert Pynoos, Armen Goenjian; 11. Memoirs of the Spitak earthquake Pavagan Petrosyan, Ida Karayan, Liana H. Grigorian; 12. Lessons learned from the Spitak earthquake and other catastrophic disasters Armen Goenjian, Alan Steinberg, Robert Pynoos.

'In this exceptional volume, Drs. Goenjian, Steinberg, and Pynoos provide a prototype for responding to and studying mental health impacts of disaster on families and communities. As would be expected from their previous work, the project is meticulous and thoughtful in its inception and implementation, deftly balancing clinician and scientist perspectives. Beginning with a school-based intervention in Armenia, it followed participating youth across time using standard, reliable instruments and up-to-date methodologies. Clinical examples and anecdotes from participants and therapists bring the intervention and its challenges to life. Chapters are well-organized and didactic, providing a road map for conducting similar intervention research, with lessons learned and suggested prevention strategies. This book serves as an exemplar for future studies, and no disaster researcher or interventionist should be without it. An outstanding contribution!' Bonnie L. Green, PhD, Professor Emeritus Department of Psychiatry Georgetown University Medical School Washington, DC