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Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series Resource Center
The SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) provides various resources and useful information for those in the disaster behavioral health field.
All resources for which links are provided are in the public domain or have been authorized for noncommercial use. Hardcopies of some materials may be ordered. If you use content from resources in this collection in program materials, you should acknowledge the source of the materials. Nothing in these other than SAMHSA resources constitutes a direct or indirect endorsement by SAMHSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of any non-federal entity’s products, services, or policies.
Did you know you can download your search results? Simply apply search filters and then click on the Download Filtered Resources link to obtain a .csv file with the resources you have found, including each resource’s name, description, date, URL, and source.
This web page provides definitions of serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED), and substance use disorders. It also features links to additional information about mental illness, SMI, SED, and substance use disorders in the United States.
This report outlines the burden of mental health problems globally, including their impact on substance use disorders. It contains suggestions on how to scale up mental health care in communities as well as resources for prevention.
Part of SAMHSA's Technical Assistance Publication (TAP) series, this handbook provides programs that treat people with mental and substance use disorders with information and tools for disaster planning.
Part of SAMHSA's Technical Assistance Publication (TAP) series, this handbook provides programs that treat people with mental and substance use disorders with information and tools for disaster planning.
The National Institute of Mental Health website has overviews of a number of disorders related to trauma exposure, including anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and substance use disorders.
This fact sheet provides tips and a checklist to help people with disabilities, such as SMI, to prepare for sheltering in place or evacuation. Checklist items help to assess needs, create a medical needs summary, collect important documents, and build a survivor kit.
This document can be used by emergency management and disaster planners to assist them in preparing for the movement of psychiatric patients during disasters. Included are the basic assumptions planning staff may have about psychiatric patients and moving them, as well as some considerations for both planners and providers.
This tip sheet describes how people with serious mental illness may experience and respond to disasters. It identifies ways in which people with serious mental illness are more vulnerable than others in disasters and problems they may face. It also offers tips for disaster planners and responders for helping people with serious mental illness and their families with disaster planning and in the aftermath of a disaster.
This web page gives an overview of schizophrenia, as well as the risk factors for developing it. It also identifies signs and symptoms of schizophrenia and gives information about different treatments and therapies, as well as how to join a study on schizophrenia. Lastly it describes how an individual can help a person suffering from schizophrenia.
The MHBG provides funds to grantees states and U.S. territories to provide comprehensive, community-based mental health services to adults with serious mental illnesses and to children with Serious Emotional Disturbance and to monitor progress in implementing systems through which these services are provided.
This toolkit is designed for organizations that would like to implement mental health programs in rural areas. It contains seven modules that focus on developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining rural mental health programs.
This web page from NAMI gives an overview of how mental health conditions may affect a person's life, as well as how to begin recovery. It also provides information on a comprehensive list of mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. For each condition, it provides information on treatment, support, and discussion groups and resources.
This web page provides an overview of how a disaster or traumatic event may affect a person with serious mental illness (SMI) differently because of the way he or she experiences a disaster. It also offers information that suggests that people with SMI are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following disasters than people without SMI.
The Real Warriors Campaign is an initiative to promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery, and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans, and their families.
This website helps support active duty military personnel and veterans and their families facing mental illnesses such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia.
The Mental Health First Aid program, according to its website, risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone both in crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a nationwide, grassroots mental health organization. NAMI offers educational programs, advocates for individuals and families affected by mental illness, and operates a toll-free helpline.
TRICARE is the U.S. Department of Defense healthcare program for members of the uniformed services and their families. This website provides information about general health, services, and benefits.
HHS is the U.S. Government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.
This web page provides statistics and information on the need for mental health services in rural America. It also gives an overview of the challenges of providing mental health services in rural communities, including accessibility, availability, and acceptability of services.
This web page describes disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, which occurs in children. It lists signs and symptoms and provides a link to an informational video. It also features information on risk factors, treatment and therapies, and how to find out more about participating in clinical trials.
This guide discusses barriers and challenges to accessing substance use disorder and mental health treatment services in rural communities. It also gives information on implementing telehealth as a method to increase access to services and the benefits of telehealth.
Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android and BlackBerry devices, this app is designed to support responders in meeting the mental health and substance use-related (behavioral health) needs of disaster-affected communities. It can be used to access preparedness and response information and to find local behavioral health services for referrals.
This fact sheet discusses general principles for disaster mental health response, including the importance of identifying survivors with psychiatric disorders and providing them treatment. It also introduces frameworks for disaster mental health response, and case identification for posttraumatic stress disorder, the most common psychiatric disorder after disasters.