COMMUNITY REACTIONS TO DISASTER - AN EMERGING ROLE FOR THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST

This article will describe ways in which communities react to severe c rises, both on a local and on a national level. Based on experiences i n Israel over the past 20 years, including recent traumatic events suc h as the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and the terrori st suicide bombings, and on an intervention in Buenos Aires, Argentina , after the bombing of the Jewish Community Centre in July 1994, a mod el is presented to describe different stages of reaction. The importan ce of the creation and development of community prevention and interve ntion programs is stressed. Emphasis is placed on the role of the scho ols and the school psychologists in developing and implementing such p rograms, and on their critical role in dealing immediately with crisis situations and their aftermaths. The prevention program emphasizes th e fostering of inner strengths and resources in children and teachers ('inoculation'), and makes provision for dealing with emotional suppor t for the professionals in charge of helping the community in times of crisis. Finally, a model for the future development of the profession of school psychology into a broader community service is proposed.