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Proceedings of the 5th Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference

George W. Doherty
Loving Healing Press (2007)
ISBN 9781932690378
Reviewed by Erin M. Hudgins, LMSW for RebeccasReads (11/08)

“Proceedings of the 5th Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference” focuses on the impact of trauma examined throughout eleven individual presentations, courses, personal vignettes and case studies (additional arrangements, not included in full format, are also provided in summary).  This writing is geared towards the mental health professional, and those with some knowledgebase of biopsychosocial theory, mental health diagnostics (i.e. DSMIV), treatment interventions, etc.  Common themes such as post traumatic stress disorder, cognitive dissonance, schema development and Maslow’s theory of hierarchy are identified as linkages throughout real life tales in attempts to explain the dynamics and the allowances which contribute to social injustices, such as the Abu Ghraib prison abuse and Hurricane Katrina, and which also tie into a disturbing account of childhood sexual abuse. 

The above-mentioned case narrative of Abigail, survivor of childhood sexual abuse and woman diagnosed with disassociative identity disorder, was disturbing and engrossing.  This story in particular captured my attention and moved me emotionally; this woman demonstrates resiliency despite the cruelest of betrayals and is determined to improve her own mental health and life circumstances as she faces her most painful childhood demons in order to improve the lives of her children and herself.  Abigail’s story leaves me to feel a sense of hopefulness in light of the intimate and successful glimpse into the usage of Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) treatment.  This book inspires this social worker to further research various treatment and theoretical models, including TIR and EMDR.

As someone who has attended several mental health conventions, I often find myself discarding the written material afterwards; I will not do that in this case. I found myself imagining these speakers and wishing that I had been able to attend.  I am sure that with the potency of American and International incidences included, the discussion experiences would have been both thought provoking and enlightening.  I am quite interested to view the mentioned documentary “Blues by the Beach” which looks at resiliency after a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.  I especially enjoyed the readings that were written in first person, outlining first hand experiences on the forefronts of crisis.  I also appreciated the attention paid towards gender. 

Though I found the variety of topics interesting, in that same vein, several of the readings came across as disjointed in their attempts to validate their writings with research, which lead to an overwhelming amount of topical information.  

    

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