The Pros And Cons Of Crisis Counselors

A tsunami destroys an entire town in Florida, leaving citizens stranded on the streets without homes and unaware if their family members are dead or alive. This is where disaster relief psychologists or crises counselors step in. They try to make this process easier for people who are struggling by helping families rebuild while offering psychological guidance. They are caring individuals who have a gift for helping people in their lowest moments. Crisis counselors face many problems in the job field, including preparing for a humanitarian aid and fulfilling the job requirements. One of the first issues facing a crisis counselor, once already given a degree, is to prepare for humanitarian aid. Per the Red Cross Mental Health Handbook, a crisis counselor can prepare to help people is to become knowledgeable about different organizations that you can refer a patient to if they need assistance that you cannot provide. It also states that one needs to learn how to listen before speaking, because it is about them not you. The hurting people do not need to hear another sob story, they have their own. Additionally, one must learn how to assure hurting people that they can recover from the tragedy and pain that they have suffered through (Schwartzbard). These are simple tasks

They should get insurance for themselves, keep up on vaccinations, and keep themselves healthy (Giray). One can keep up on their vaccinations by checking out ReliefWeb, “Plenty of job boards specialize in humanitarian vacancies. ReliefWeb is filled with humanitarian vacancies, and is a great source of pre-deployment information.” (Giray). They can keep themselves healthy by knowing what is normal for their body and regulating their stress levels. Teams of disaster relief workers usually look for signs of stress in each other, so one does not get themselves mentally ill from trying to do a good thing of helping