Prior to recent years, very little therapist training dealt with the after-effects of natural disasters.
orientation than most therapists including myself ever were trained in. You’re not wanting to look at anyone’s childhood,” Swanson says. “It’s critical that clinicians especially in places like California, where we know this is going to be happening a lot, get these skills.” Swanson isn’t the only one to “skill up.” More mental health
Psychological first aid Swanson says she, too, doesn’t feel fully equipped to help her clients. It wasn’t in her training, which is why she is taking lots of trauma courses now to “skill up.” “Working with people after a natural disaster is a very specific kind of work. It’s psychological first aid and that is a different
May 2025
NorthBaybiz 35
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