Description: This monograph has been written, in part, as a consequence of the growing
interest in the delivery of emergency mental health services to residents
of disaster-stricken areas. It is designed to provide knowledge of
both a theoretical and a practical nature which can aid personnel on the
state and local level in planning and carrying out disaster-related mental
health programs that are efficiently and effectively organized. In short,
our focus in the report is on making recommendations for post-disaster
mental health programs based on systematic research findings. Although
the report attempts to take into account the characteristics of the smaller
community--thr rural area or small town relatively far removed from the
resources of the large urban complex--the findings and recommendations it contains sould be of even wider interest and applicability.