For Mental Health/Health Providers

Oil Spill Distress Intervention for Mental Health/Health Providers - Accessing and Providing Resources

Effective collaboration among school and community-based mental health service and health providers is a key component for effective intervention efforts to support members of the Gulf area communities affected by the oil spill. 

The purpose of the following guide is to (a) provide user-friendly information resources for educators, students, families, and mental health and other health providers; and (b) enhance collaboration with local schools to plan ways to provide access to direct services for students and families affected by the oil spill.

Provide helpful information:

• The Gulf Oil Spill Crisis: Staying Hopeful in the Face of Tragedy
• Children and Disasters, American Academy of Pediatrics Information on the Oil Spill Affecting the Gulf
• BP Deepwater Oil Spill, American Psychiatric Association Resources
• Tips for Coping with the Oil Spill Disaster - Managing Your Stress
• Tips for Dealing with Grief Due to the Oil Spill Disaster
• Tips for Talking to Children & Youth About the Oil Spill Disaster - A Guide for Parents and Educators
• Tips for Talking to Children & Youth About the Oil Spill Disaster - Interventions at Home for Preschoolers to Adolescents
• To find available resources and mental health agencies in your community, call the Oil Spill Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990.

Promote training opportunities:

• Psychological First Aid
• Helping Children Cope with a Crisis: Care for the Caregivers
• Mental Health First Aid training is an interactive 12-hour course that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Below are links to instructors in the four affected states:

 - Instructors in Louisiana
 - Instructors in Mississippi
 - Instructors in Alabama
 - Instructors in Florida
• Peer listening has been found to be a valuable tool for recovery/healing that could benefit both staff and families.

Create ongoing partnerships with the schools in your community for student referrals:

• Work together with school-based mental health providers to complete the Mental Health Services Infrastructure Assessment. This will help to assess the current school infrastructure, processes for student referrals for mental and behavioral services, and available mental health resources within the school and community.
• Creating a Front Porch: Strategies for Improving Access to Mental Health Services

Additional Resources For Mental Health/Health Providers:

• Caring for Kids After Trauma and Death: A GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND PROFESSIONALS by The Institute for Trauma and Stress at The NYU Child Study Center 

• A Guide for Advancing Family-Centered and Culturally and Linguistically Competent Care 
• Information for Health Professionals, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• National Institute of Mental Health Resources
• Psychological First Aid by The Institute for Trauma and Stress at The NYU Child Study Center
• Ten Tips for Families in Tough Times
• Trauma in Children and Adolescents - Information for School Clinicians by the Maryland School Mental Health  Alliance

SAMHSA Free Publications:

• Developing Cultural Competence in Disaster Mental Health Programs
• Field Manual for Mental Health and Human Service Workers in Major Disasters 
• Practice Guidelines: Core Elements for Responding to Mental Health Crises
• Psychosocial Issues for Children and Adolescents in Disaster