Clinical Round Tables
Disaster Mental Health
Samantha N. Hellberg, M.A.
Graduate student
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Tiffany Hopkins, Ph.D.
Psychologist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Melanie Harned, ABPP, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Psychologist
VA Puget Sound Health Care System & University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Juliette C. McClendon, Ph.D.
Director of Medical Affairs
Big Health
Newton, Massachusetts
Carolina P. Clancy, ABPP, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist, Evidence Based Psychotherapy Coordinator, CPT Trainer and Consultant
US Department of Veterans Affairs
Durham, North Carolina
Lorie A. Ritschel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Clinic Director
UNC School of Medicine; Triangle Area Psychology Clinic
Durham, North Carolina
Jennifer Y. Yi, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist
Durham Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
Durham, North Carolina
This clinical roundtable aims to support evidence-based care for trauma recovery and high-risk behavioral concerns amidst ongoing and future global crises. The COVID-19 crisis led to a rapid onslaught of social stressors and a mental health crisis, with increased rates of domestic violence, child maltreatment, suicidality, and distress observed. The loss of life and broad social impacts of COVID-19 resulted in large-scale trauma exposure, with disproportionate effects on historically marginalized communities. While managing the increased need for services, clinicians have needed to rapidly adjust their practices given dynamic health concerns and decreased availability of community supports. As the pandemic and its implications continue to evolve, clinicians need to effectively balance physical and mental health safety concerns, alongside a multitude of psychosocial stressors. This poses a considerable challenge, even for highly skilled clinicians. Crisis situations (like the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice) substantially compound barriers to accessing and implementing effective treatment. Frontline interventions often emphasize individual-level processes over environmental contexts. As such, key factors contributing to presenting problems may be missed. Finally, it can be difficult to deliver interventions “as prescribed” or empirically evaluated in crisis situations. Attention to several dialectics may aid clinicians in responding effectively to these challenges, including balancing: acceptance and change strategies, flexibility and adherence, and within-person and societal factors. Expert panelists will discuss these dialectics with an eye towards the impact of the pandemic on the presentation, conceptualization, and treatment of trauma and high-risk behaviors (e.g., suicidality, interpersonal violence, substance use). Challenges faced in risk management and trauma recovery work will be discussed, and solutions offered based on both research and clinical experience. Lessons learned from practice and dissemination efforts will be discussed to aid clinicians in managing elevated rates of traumatic stress and risk behavior in clinical contexts. Resources for navigating these issues will be provided.