| For survivors affected by a natural disaster, there can be a number of psychological factors associated with the trauma of experiencing one. Post traumatic stress, depression, suicidal ideations, anxiety, and shock are some of the symptoms associated with such a natural disaster. These symptoms can lead to social problems, unemployment status, psychiatric hospitalization, and permanent disability. Natural disasters can include hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires, and volcanic eruptions. For thousands of years people have been experiencing these natural phenomena, but it has only been within the past fifty years that scientists, researchers, and mental health professionals have been able to study and treat the complex issues of individuals "surviving" such an act of nature (VandenBos & Bryant, 1987).;The goal of this program is to alleviate the chronic symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) experienced from a particular natural disaster, a hurricane, in which the individual would return to a pre-symptomatic mental state and improve his/her quality of life. The program will be based in South Florida and will be designed to reduce the potential for decompensation and hospitalization by giving the "survivor" effective coping strategies for handling the long-term effects of the psychological trauma. This partial hospitalization program (PHP) will foster a positive, educational, and supportive environment for adults, and its aim will be to stabilize the target population. The program will focus on one population of interest: adult, (18--55 yrs. old) chronic sufferers of PTSD who display symptoms lasting more than 3 months and require cognitive-behavioral psychoeducational/group therapy, psychopharmacological treatment, case management, and social support services. The program evaluation results will demonstrate that the program will meet its goals and objectives and will illustrate that it is cost effective and consumer oriented. |
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