Using counselors in a multideath disaster.
In the worst possible situation, a disaster results in multiple deaths, requiring the involvement of coroner's and medical examiner's offices. Guidelines offered by the National Association of Medical Examiners and by a national funeral directors' association suggest the use of ministers and chaplains to offer "pastoral" care to family members who have lost a loved one in a disaster. This article offers an example of a disaster protocol based upon national guidelines, but using certified and licensed professional counselors to provide preventive outreach counseling to those family members. Furthermore, this protocol uses a counselor in a key position to provide psychological care to investigative and medical personnel involved in the recovery and identification portions of a disaster.
Young
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North Louisiana Regional Forensic Center, Bossier City 71111, USA.
McCormick
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McCormick
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D002423:Cause of Death; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D004190:Disasters; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana; D000078329:Workforce