Examination of the experiences of mental health workers in disasters from the perspective of psychological resilience

A disaster affects a large part of society and causes physical, psychological, and economic losses. In disasters, psychosocial support teams provide systematic interventions to the communities affected by the disaster. However, although mental health professionals (such as social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.) working in the disaster area are professionals, they can be adversely affected by disasters in terms of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial aspects. The coping dynamics of professionals may also differ in these aspects. The concept of 'psychological resilience', also known as 'resilience' in the literature, gains great importance to manage the stress in question and protecting against possible risks. However, studies dealing with the experiences of professionals working in disasters related to resilience are limited in the literature. The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of mental health professionals working in disasters from the perspective of psychological resilience. The research was created in a phenomenological pattern within the scope of qualitative methodology. The research group consisted of 20 mental health specialists, including social workers, psychologists, and child development specialists working in disasters. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect data in the study. The analysis of the data was made through the MAXQDA Plus 2020 program. In the research, results were obtained that could shed light on social work intervention policies, including the tasks performed in the disaster area, personal characteristics of psychological resilience, social environment interactions, protection strategies, and recommendations for strengthening professionals in terms of psychological resilience. Experts perform tasks such as needs assessment and resource management, psychological first aid, referral and guidance, individual interviews, psychoeducation, group work, and employee support practices in the disaster area. The participants stated that they had a lot of difficulty in coping emotionally, especially in emotional coping and interventions after loss and bereavement, but their past experiences in their own lives contributed to their coping, their coping skills were high when they encountered an unexpected situation, and they generally made new plans when they did not set goals for the future. In social interactions, some experts stated that they are hesitant to ask for support from someone and although they use personal coping methods, family and friend relationships and support are very important, and working with teammates while working in the disaster area makes them feel safer. They stated that in their strategies to protect psychological resilience in the disaster area, they maintain their self-care, their coping skills are high, they receive professional psychosocial support or supervision when necessary, they are in a certain motivation and teamwork, they protect their professional boundaries and provide the information flow they need continuously. Suggestions such as meeting their basic needs while working in the disaster area, receiving field-specific in-service training and supervision support, establishing a healthy coordination system and inter-institutional cooperation, appreciation, employee support, and post-disaster professional psychological support systems were presented. As a result, there is a need for structured social work interventions at micro, mezzo, and macro levels to strengthen the well-being and protect the psychological resilience of mental health professionals in disasters. Keywords: Disaster, Disaster Workers, Resilience, Mental Health Specialist, Social Worker