New web guide links to multiple resources for disaster mental health.

A team of psychiatrists has developed a Web-based guide to mental health resources that primary care and mental health providers can use to help those who are affected by natural and manmade disasters.

The psychiatrists developed the guide in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita after reading reports from New Orleans that nearly half the people surveyed revealed a significant degree of mental distress and nearly 70 percent would accept a mental health referral if offered. At the time, fewer than 2 percent of the population of Orleans Parish were receiving mental health services.

"After the severe damage inflicted by the recent hurricanes, all of the authors immediately realized that the frequency of significant and often debilitating mental health problems would most likely eventually equal, or surpass, the disaster-related morbidity and mortality associated with physical problems," the guide states. "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has estimated that 500,000 people have significant mental health problems in the wake of Katrina and Rita."

The guide, "Disaster Mental Health," links to several types of resources, including the following:

* General resources for disaster mental health for psychiatrists and psychologists;

* Information on disaster psychiatry for primary care physicians and mental health providers;

* Help for overwhelmed or suicidal patients;

* Screening instruments and brief diagnostic interviews;

* Stress management information for disaster responders and physicians involved in disaster relief;

* Information about psychological issues related to children affected by disasters; and

* Resources on disaster mental health and general mental health for the public.

The guide is available online at http://psychiatry.mc.duke.edu/clinical/ disastermentalhealth.html.