Introduction -- Identifying affected communities -- Defining trauma and complicated grief -- The team approach to recovery and resiliency -- Comprehensive care coordination -- The politics of recovery -- Following the money -- Therapies and programs that work -- Addressing families who lost a loved one -- Survivors impacted on site: teachers, school personnel, and students -- Emergency responders -- Supporting clinicians, clergy, and pediatricians -- The importance of self care -- Addressing ongoing needs -- Final thoughts.
Summary:
After the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, local caregivers, civic leaders, and first responders had the daunting task of navigating emotional and physical trauma as they stitched their community back together. The recovery process takes years, and as the coordinator of the Newtown Recovery and Resiliency Team, Melissa Glaser managed the town's response. She developed a unique set of therapeutic and transferable best practices that other communities can learn from. The impact of an intense media presence and the long-term financial needs of recovery work are also included in Healing a Community. Through heartbreaking insights, Glaser conveys the importance of meeting traumatized individuals where they are at in the process. Lessons learned in Newtown can be used to create a universal community mental health disaster plan so leaders, therapists, and families know what to do the next time tragedy occurs.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.