The American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services: Development of a cooperative, single function, multidisciplinary service model

Not until 1989 did the Red Cross officially recognize a need for a systemat ic and organized plan for the mental health needs of disaster survivors. Ov er the next decade, the Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services program h as developed and evolved to assist both disaster victims and the Red Cross workers who serve them to cope with the overwhelming stresses encountered b y both groups in the aftermath of disasters. The Red Cross now coordinates a large and diverse group of mental health professionals from fields of psy chology: psychiatry, nursing, social work, marriage and family therapy, and counseling who work together cooperatively. Cross-disciplinary conflicts a re minimized by the Red Cross' generic approach to the various mental healt h professional specialties as functionally interchangeable in performing Re d Cross duties. This article reviews the development of this process and de scribes one local Red Cross chapter's early experience as part of this effo rt.