Piloting a new model of crisis counseling: specialized crisis counseling services in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.
During January-April 2007, Project Recovery, a federally funded crisis counseling program implemented by Mississippi's Department of Mental Health, piloted a new model of Specialized Crisis Counseling Services (SCCS) on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In this team-based approach, a masters-level counselor trained in a variety of intervention techniques and a resource coordinator worked together with persons whose needs were relatively intense. Compared to regular program (RCCS) participants over the same interval (n = 29,522), SCCS participants (n = 281) were more likely to be female, middle-aged, and at greater risk for severe distress. In a participant survey conducted in both programs over the same week, SCCS participants reported significantly greater benefit than did RCCS participants. A subset of 129 SCCS participants provided pre- and post-participation assessments and showed large improvements in disaster-related distress.
Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Jackson, MS, USA.
Kris
K
Jones
Mardi
M
Allen
Fran H
FH
Norris
Christy
C
Miller
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003376:Counseling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003419:Crisis Intervention / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D012307:Risk Factors; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult