Article archive / July 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 11. Source pages: 12, 13.
On Friday, June 4th, Dr. Darlyne Nemeth and her colleague, Dr. Judy Kuriansky (Columbia University), and student associates Traci Olivier, Taighlor Whittington, Natasha May, John Hamilton and Alex Steger, presented “Group Interventions for Disaster/Trauma Anniversary Reactions” at the Returning to Katrina – Bringing Hurricane Katrina Research Back to the Community – Conference. The conference was sponsored by University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Policy and Resilience.
She told the Times, “Our mentor, Don Glad, would be so proud of the techniques used in these community workshops, which were conducted around the first year anniversaries of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “The fifth year anniversaries are approaching,” she noted. “We may, therefore, expect to see some symptom re-emergence.”
Methodology for group intervention included initial assessment to uncover worry, irritability, tension, sadness, and other symptoms. In the workshop, participants move through a process of experiential learning to express emotions in a therapeutic manner. One aspect of the process includes “The Container –Contained Model.” This method, adapted from Billows, allows emotional expression in a safe environment, and is associated with reduced anxiety around the traumatic events.
Judy Kuriansky, Ph.D., a professor at Columbia University and a well- known New York psychologist is also a journalist and writes a column in the NY Daily News. She did a feature article on the Anniversary Workshops and helped facilitate one of the sessions.
The workshops were first presented at APA in New Orleans. Eventually the methodology formed the basis of workshops at the 08 World Congress for Psychotherapy in Beijing, China. where mental health professionals were prepared to deal with the one year anniversary reactions that were anticipated from the Sichuan Earthquake.
Above is from Dr. Darlyne Nemeth’s presentation. She reminds psychologists to watch for anniversary symptoms in clients and patients.
A slide from the Wellness Workshop presentation, defining experiential model and process.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.