It is essential for mental health professionals to receive appropriate training long before a disaster occurs. Since traditional psychotherapy is not utilized during disaster responses, it is vital to know the protocol and tools to use as a Disaster Mental Health Professional on scene or in the aftermath of a disaster, crisis, or critical incident.

It is important to participate with your professional association and other crisis response organizations involved in disaster preparation, disaster response, and disaster recovery. It is also important to respond through a crisis response agency that will help you get the proper crisis intervention training. You will learn about resilience, emotional first aid, triage, and the specific protocols of the agency with which you affiliate.

Mental health professionals who desire to serve their communities in times of disaster or crisis are urged to join their local American Red Cross chapter. With its effective infrastructure and resources, the Red Cross is at the forefront of disaster response education and training. The Red Cross actively recruits, trains, and deploys mental health professionals to provide support services to disaster survivors and workers across the stages of preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.