DTAC Podcasts and Videos
The SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) offers audio podcasts and videos for disaster behavioral health professionals, emergency managers, and the public.
Produced by SAMHSA DTAC, the Navigating Uncertainty podcast covers mental health and substance use-related issues and where they intersect with disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Access the podcast on Spotify or on this web page.
Season 1: DEIA in Disaster Behavioral Health
The first season of Navigating Uncertainty explores diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in disaster behavioral health. For more information on this topic or the subject matter experts featured in this podcast season, contact SAMHSA DTAC.
SAMHSA DTAC talks with Dr. Carla S. Perkins, Founder and CEO of Abounding Joy Counseling and Wellness Services in Indiana, about key concepts and definitions, including the components of DEIA, cultural competence, historical trauma, and racial disparities. The podcast also addresses the importance of building DEIA into doctrines and guidelines for disaster behavioral health.
SAMHSA DTAC speaks with Curtis Brown, President of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at Indelible Management Solutions, a government consulting firm. Brown’s rich background in homeland security and emergency management includes past roles as Visiting Senior Practitioner in Residence at Virginia Commonwealth University and State Coordinator (Director) of Emergency Management at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. DTAC and Brown discuss how to engage historically marginalized communities in disaster planning, the role of cultural and linguistic factors in disaster behavioral health preparedness, and how to use technology to promote DEIA in disaster behavioral health.
SAMHSA DTAC talks with Roger Williams, owner of Hands On Interpreting, LLC, a private practice specializing in consulting and training related to the needs of deaf adults in the mental health system and former Executive Director of the Spartanburg Area Mental Health Center with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. The discussion covers best practices for meeting the disaster response needs of the whole community and all its languages, using data in support of DEIA, and how disaster-affected communities can ensure they are reaching special populations.
SAMHSA DTAC meets with two disaster behavioral health experts with the State of Colorado: Dr. Curt Drennen, Disaster Behavioral Health and Community Recovery Branch Manager, and Aimee Voth Siebert, Disaster Behavioral Health and Inclusion Program Manager. They discuss how to make the business case within your organization for greater DEIA, real-life examples of infusing DEIA into disaster behavioral health, lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and fostering partnerships.
This episode features Brian Houston, Co‑director of the Terrorism and Disaster Center at the University of Missouri, a partner in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. He discusses community resilience definitions, models, strategies, and tools.
In this episode, we hear from Dr. Melissa Riley, State Coordinator for the Tennessee Disaster Crisis Counseling Program. She discusses ways trauma can affect our lives in the short and long term and how to enhance resilience in individuals, families, and communities.
This episode features Thomas R. Thomson, the Access Specialist and Disaster Coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. He discusses how an agency can prepare itself for a disaster, increase employee resilience, and serve the community in a time of need.
In this episode, we hear from Amy Kevis, a sworn officer and the Assistant Director for Community Mental Health and Addiction Services in Delaware. She shares why it is important for first responders to build resiliency and unique challenges facing first responders.
This episode features Dee S. Owens, Special Assistant to the Director in SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. She discusses why it is critical for disaster behavioral health coordinators to consider the needs of people with substance use disorders, and how planning efforts can increase resiliency among this population.
In this episode, we hear from Natalie Grant, a Program Analyst in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (since renamed the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response), Division of Recovery. She served as the Health and Social Services Field Coordinator for the federal interagency coordination following Hurricane Sandy from 2012 to 2016 and has supported recovery planning and coordination in other disaster and emergency incidents nationwide.
Promising Practices Videos
The Promising Practices in Disaster Behavioral Health Planning video series offers disaster behavioral health professionals a set of eight practices which other professionals in the field have found helpful in planning and preparedness for disaster behavioral health response and recovery. SAMHSA DTAC collaborated with several states and disaster behavioral health experts to formalize this series of practices.
The Introduction to Promising Practices in Disaster Behavioral Health Planning video (2019) (6 minutes, 13 seconds) provides an overview of promising practices in disaster behavioral health planning. The following videos provide greater detail on each practice:
- Plan Scalability (2019) (8 minutes, 1 second)
- Partnerships (2019) (6 minutes, 2 seconds)
- Financial and Administrative Preparedness (2019) (4 minutes, 27 seconds)
- Plan Implementation (2019) (5 minutes, 28 seconds)
- Services Assessment (2019) (5 minutes, 3 seconds)
- Logistical Support (2019) (9 minutes, 19 seconds)
- Legal and Regulatory Guidance (2019) (9 minutes, 40 seconds)
- Plan Integration (2019) (5 minutes, 43 seconds)