The Disaster Mental Health Response Team can be called upon to assist victims and disaster responders. Which of the following is NOT a service that they may provide?

The Disaster Mental Health Response Team can be called upon to assist victims and disaster responders. Which of the following is NOT a service that they may provide?

• A. Crisis counseling
• B. Debriefing of responders
• C. Provide professional psychological treatment
• D. Referrals to resources

Answer: (C)

Disaster mental health response teams are built to offer immediate, short‑term psychosocial support and to connect people with longer‑term resources, not to provide ongoing clinical treatment. They provide crisis counseling to help stabilize emotions and teach coping strategies in the immediate aftermath, and they may assist responders with processing the event and managing stress. They also link victims and responders to available resources, such as community services or mental health providers for follow-up care. Providing professional psychological treatment, however, involves ongoing therapy and formal clinical care that require licensed clinicians and a longer-term treatment plan, which goes beyond the scope of rapid-response disaster teams. So the service that isn’t within their typical role is ongoing professional psychological treatment.

Disaster mental health response teams are built to offer immediate, short‑term psychosocial support and to connect people with longer‑term resources, not to provide ongoing clinical treatment. They provide crisis counseling to help stabilize emotions and teach coping strategies in the immediate aftermath, and they may assist responders with processing the event and managing stress. They also link victims and responders to available resources, such as community services or mental health providers for follow-up care. Providing professional psychological treatment, however, involves ongoing therapy and formal clinical care that require licensed clinicians and a longer-term treatment plan, which goes beyond the scope of rapid-response disaster teams. So the service that isn’t within their typical role is ongoing professional psychological treatment.