October is often considered a month of transitions – the newness of the school year has worn off and the days start getting cooler and shorter. It is a good time for reflection and taking stock as we start to prepare for the autumn and winter months ahead. It is fitting then that it is also the month when we recognize World Mental Health Day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 8% of children and 15% of adolescents worldwide experience a mental health disorder. For adolescents in particular, depression and anxiety disorders are the leading causes of disability and suicide is among the leading causes of death. Given that half of mental health disorders in adulthood emerge by age 18 and go mostly untreated, it is crucial to detect and address youth mental health as early as possible.
What is World Mental Health Day?
World Mental Health Day was created by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), an international organization founded in 1948 to address global mental health concerns and decrease stigma. Its mission is “to advance, among all peoples and nations, the prevention of mental and emotional disorders, the proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health.” The WFMH first instituted World Mental Health Day on October 10, 1992, as an important way to increase global advocacy and awareness. Each year the holiday centers around a specific theme. This year, the theme is Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies. Given the recent global pandemic, multiple ongoing armed conflicts, family separations, and natural disasters, it calls much-needed attention to how to provide support to those experiencing crises.
How Can I Support Access to Mental Health for Youth in Catastrophes and Emergencies?
For those acting as disaster workers following an emergency, specific models, such as Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Skills for Psychological Recovery, created by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD, provide structured protocols to tend to immediate needs and ongoing concerns. These models are comprehensive and typically require formal training. However, there are basic tenets of how to promote a safe environment, reduce distress, and encourage coping in the aftermath of an emergency.
Engage survivors in a compassionate and helpful manner
- Youth and families who recently experienced an emergency may respond to the event in many ways – they may be coping relatively well, be in shock, feel numb, or be noticeably scared or sad. Introduce yourself calmly and provide them with some space to respond in whatever way feels comfortable to them. Some children and adolescents may welcome assistance, and other people may want more time before interacting with others. If they are open to speaking, ask about immediate needs they have and let them know your plan to follow up.
Create a safe and comfortable environment
- Youth and families may be feeling very disoriented following a catastrophe and often benefit from some stability and practical support. Move children and their caregivers (if together) to a safe area and check in as to whether they need access to any assistive devices, such as eyeglasses, wheelchairs or medications. Assist in locating caregivers that may have been separated from the youth and ensure youth are supervised at all times.
- Provide accurate updates as to what is happening in response to the disaster. It is okay to say you are not sure about a particular situation – honesty and authenticity are important as children and adolescents can often tell when someone is not being truthful and appreciate the transparency.
- Provide physical comforts, if they are welcomed by youth and their families – blankets, food, water, stuffed animals or toys – these small gestures can feel soothing and grounding in the moment.
Offer assistance and connect to others
- Following a catastrophe or disaster, individuals often need concrete and practical supports. They may need to locate or contact other family members to update them, complete paperwork to enroll in needed services, or access necessities like food, shelter, and clothing. Offer your support to survivors to address these immediate concerns and assist with problem solving, if needed. It may be hard for survivors who are feeling overwhelmed to engage in planning and other tasks that require executive functioning. Having someone who can offer alternative solutions and walk through the pros and cons of each solution can be a much-needed solace.
- Offer hope and facilitate optimism. It is important to instill confidence that the youth and their family members can take meaningful steps to manage their stress reactions following the disaster without making unrealistic claims or downplaying the severity of the event.
- Help establish connections with others, including family members, friends, and community helping resources. Facilitate introductions for those who do not know each other well and ask if they have questions. Children may also find it soothing to be with similarly-aged peers doing developmentally appropriate activities, such as coloring or drawing, tossing a ball back and forth, and playing simple games like tic-tac-toe.
Provide information about coping and encourage healthy habits
- After an emergency or disaster, youth may be experiencing a range of reactions that might include difficulty sleeping, irritability, sadness, a lack of energy or appetite, trouble concentrating, or physical symptoms like headaches or stomachaches. Young children may also tantrum more often or cling to their caregivers. If they are experiencing post-traumatic stress, they may also have intrusive thoughts or memories of the event, avoid talking about or reminders of the event, or be feeling “on alert” to everything going on around them. Let them know that these reactions are all appropriate responses and that they may persist or not last very long. Acknowledge that their thoughts, feelings, and reactions are valid and that you care about hearing their questions and their experiences.
- Encourage them to engage in healthy habits like talking to others and asking for support, getting the recommended number of hours of sleep, eating healthy food, moving their bodies, doing the activities that they typically enjoy, and trying to follow a routine. Try to limit further exposure to news and media coverage about the disaster after the event as this can exacerbate negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
If children and adolescents continue to experience distress that is impairing their daily life after the catastrophe or emergency is over, they may need mental health treatment from a provider that has experience working with you who have experienced a disaster. PracticeWise offers many helpful tools to assist mental health providers working with youth who have experienced a catastrophe or emergency. These include PWEBS, a tool that identifies the most effective interventions based on the youth’s presenting problem and Practitioner Guides focused on post-traumatic stress (i.e., Psychoeducation for Trauma (Youth and Caregiver), Personal Safety Skills, Narrative: Trauma, Exposure, Relaxation, and Cognitive: Trauma) as well as Crisis Management and Case Management.
Additional Resources
- World Mental Health Day 2025 Campaign Toolkit (World Federation for Mental Health)
- Coping with Disaster (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
- Help Kids Cope (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network)
- A Toolkit for Child Welfare Agencies to Help Young People Heal and Thrive During and After Natural Disasters (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network)
- Coping After Disaster (American Psychiatric Association)
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About the Author
Jennifer Regan, Ph.D., serves in multiple roles on the Services and Products Development team for PracticeWise. Learn more about Dr. Regan on the PracticeWise team page.
