Children face a range of traumatic exposures. In contrast to individual trauma, community disasters typically involve more widely impacting suffering. Child and adolescent psychiatrists who take part in disaster preparation and response need to understand not only the traumatic impact on individual children, but also the impact on the systems and services that typically support children. In the aftermath of September 11th, the Southeast Asian Tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina there is a crucial national need to improve the delivery of evidence-based post-disaster interventions. This Workshop provides participants with a broad overview of the effects of trauma and disaster on children and communities, and also presents a current understanding of effective disaster response and trauma treatment. The program also describes the national response to children in disasters, the principles and practice of psychological first aid, post-disaster intervention and screening, as well as evidence-based treatments for trauma related disorders.

Sponsored by the AACAP Disaster and Trauma Issues Committee