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Crisis Psychology

International symposium of crisis and disaster psychologists in Prague

After an interval of three years, the symposium of the Standing Committee for Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology EFPA was held once again at the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.

A Specialised Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology Symposium, intended for experts in the field of disaster psychology from the Czech Republic and other countries, took place on 20 October 2017. The event was attended by sixty-five experts, particularly psychologists and intervention workers from the Police, the Fire Rescue Services and the Czech Armed Forces, and also from non-profit organisations and health departments. Foreign guests from 17 countries attended (Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Israel, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Great Britain). The main topics of the symposium were: (1) crisis intervention systems and psychosocial aid in the rescue services; (2) dealing with the psychosocial impact on victims of the latest terrorist attacks in Europe and major natural disasters; (3) the psychological aspects of radicalisation and (4) especially vulnerable groups of people during disasters (including people with disabilities, survivors of the deceased and children).

The event took place within the terms of the European semester. The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic hosted the event with the organisational support of the Union of Psychologists Association of the Czech Republic and work groups for crisis, disaster and trauma psychology of the Czech-Moravian Psychological Society.

Štěpán Vymětal, security policy and crime prevention psychologist of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic, and Magda Rooze, convenor of the SC EFPA, opened the symposium. Aneta Langrová of the Police Presidium described the crisis intervention system of the Czech Police (the system for supporting victims of crime and disaster, the peer support system, crisis help line and police psychologist services). Martina Wolf Čapková of the DG of the Fire Rescue Service acquainted attendees with the experiences of the psychological service of the FRS of the Czech Republic (personnel psychology, education, post-traumatic care of fire fighters, psychosocial aid to citizens affected by disaster, including especially vulnerable persons). This was followed by a presentation by Bohumila Baštecká from PTF UC, which critically described the limits of the preventive programme for increasing resilience, as applied in the American Armed Forces. Representative of the British Psychological Society, Noreen Tehrani, described the on-line psychological screening programme for emergency service workers coming to terms with primary and secondary trauma as a result of deployment during crises and disasters. She also mentioned her experiences from crisis work following the latest terrorist attacks in Great Britain and following the fire of the block of flats in London. Representative of the Finnish Psychological Association, Salli Saari, spoke about the impact of the mass stabbing in the city of Turku, which took place two days after the terrorist attack in Barcelona, and the subsequent crisis work. During this attack the attacker selected victims at random in a market and there was also a large number of eyewitnesses. Random selection of the victims of a terrorist attack is a recent phenomenon, which may also contribute to the chronic progress of issues experienced by survivors. Representative of the French Federation of Psychologists, Dominique Szepielak, presented the psychotherapeutic programme for children who survived the terrorist attack in Nice, including children whose parents died during the attack. Our Slovak colleague Mária Anyalaiová, presented her experience in group crisis intervention at Slovak schools following the suicide of a student, the death at an accident or death of a teacher. Andrea Šíchová of the PF UC acquainted attendees with the results of research of the psychological aspects of radicalisation in the Czech prison population. The sample of people at potential risk of radicalisation in our prison environment consists of men of an average age of 34 years, who are unemployed, with repeated criminal activity, lower education, childhood behavioural disorders, below-average intellect, increased aggression and impulsiveness. Dissociative personality disorders, identity problems or other mental health issues may also be common. Most of the people in the sample were those at risk of radicalisation from the right wing or non-specific radicalisation. Mrs Zora Vansteenkiste acquainted us with the activities of the Belgian V-Europe Association of Victims of Terrorism, which was created in response to terrorist attacks at Brussels Airport and at the metro station on 22 March 2016. A specific issue was the lack of coordinated help, particularly psychological aid, and also the secondary traumatisation of affected people. Italian therapist Lucia Formenti acquainted attendees with her knowledge of timely intervention and psychological support using so-called EMDR therapy, after the recent earthquakes in central Italy. Research data on the effectiveness of this therapy was also presented. Gisela Zurek, a psychologist from the German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, closed the symposium by presenting the results of the European EUNAD IP project, which focuses on the field of psychosocial aid to people with disabilities (motor, sensory or mental disabilities) during disasters (see also www.eunad-info.eu)

The symposium was followed by a meeting of the Standing Committee for Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology EFPA, which ended on Saturday 21 October 2017. The programme included a meeting of the representatives of the V-Europe Association of Victims of Terrorism, exchange of information from the handling of the most recent disasters in individual countries, preparation of standards for individual levels of university education in the new specialisation of disaster psychology, exchange of information related to creating guidelines for psychological work with crowds and with people being sheltered or evacuated and exchange of information about European projects in the field of disaster psychology. The Czech representative presented an instructional video, which was created in cooperation with the IP EUNAD project and the Police Presidium of the Czech Republic and which focuses on improving work by police officers with victims with special communication needs (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2obE09xs8dU&t=10s )

The next meeting of the Standing Committee for Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology will take place in the first half of 2018 probably in Great Britain. Visit http://disaster.efpa.eu/ for more information.