Information for Professionals

ISTSS offers Public Education Pamphlets that provide a readily accessible introduction to important trauma-related issues. The titles below will take you to the text.

• Mass Disasters, Trauma and Loss
• Trauma, Loss and Traumatic Grief
• Indirect Traumatization in Professionals Working with Trauma Survivors (for providers)
• Children and Trauma

Other trauma groups offering educational material:

Canadian Traumatic Stress Network - Resources for mental health professionals involved in the Haiti Earthquake Relief

Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma/Global Mental Health

IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychological Support in Emergency Settings (PDF)
--Developed wtih the assistance of ISTSS

PTSD Research Quarterly

Clinician's Trauma Update Online Newsletter

UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): the treatment of PTSD in adults and children

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Web site

The Cochrane Review

Statement from the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (PDF)

National Center for PTSD

Caring for Kids after Trauma and Death: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (PDF)

National Center for PTSD Brief Disaster Educational Summary (PDF)

National Center for PTSD Brief Disaster Assessment Summary (PDF)

Useful Links

• What Is Traumatic Stress?
• Best Practice Parameters
• About Trauma and ISTSS
• Fact Sheets
• Working with the Media
• Specialized Trauma Resources & Organizations
• How Can I Offer My Help?
• About ISTSS 

General Information

• What Is Traumatic Stress?
• What Is ISTSS

Fact Sheets

• Sudden Traumatic Loss
• Children and Trauma
• When a Friend or Loved One Has Been Traumatized
• Mass Disasters, Trauma, and Loss
• Indirect Trauma (for providers)
• Treating Survivors in the Acute Aftermath of Traumatic Events
  (pdf file from Hadassah University Hospital, Israel)
• Acute Responses to Traumatic Stress
  (pdf file from Hadassah University Hospital, Israel)
• Psychological Services in Disasters
  (pdf file from the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies)
• Guidelines for International Trauma Training
  (Draft document developed by the ISTSS Taskforce on International Trauma Training designed to enhance the training and capacities of trauma mental health professionals.)
• The ISTSS/Rand Guidelines on Mental Health Training of Primary Healthcare Providers for Trauma-Exposed Populations in Conflict-Affected Countries
• Self-Care and Self-Help Following Disasters - A National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet (English and Spanish versions available)
• Tips to Help Adults Cope With Disaster (pdf file from the National Mental Health Association)
• Coping with a Major Personal Crisis (pdf file compiled from the Australian Red Cross Society)
• Treatment Guidelines for Response to the recent traumatic events in the U.S.(from Effective Treatments for PTSD Practice Guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies editor Edna Foa, PhD)
• Guidelines for primary care physicians in treating PTSD (from American Academy of Family Physicians)
• Articles on debate about debriefing ("Some Therapists Caution That Trauma Services Could Backfire", New York Times Health Section, Sept 16, 2001)
• Advice from Scientists: Letter of Caution for Psychologists (relates to the above NYT article)
• Gift From Within - PTSD Resources for Survivors and Caregivers
• 50,000 Disaster Victims Speak: An Empirical Review of the Empirical Literature, 1981 - 2001
• Additional Links & Resources on Traumatic Stress

Working with the Media

• Center for the Advancement of Health see the publications "Tips for Researchers."
• The Dart Center for Trauma & Journalism

Specialized Trauma Resources & Organizations

• General Information
  National Center for PTSD Concise information for the public
• Children and Trauma
  • American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Offers information on talking with children and helping them cope with trauma
  • American Academy of Pediatrics Basic guidelines for communicating with children about disasters and information for pediatricians.
  • School Disaster: Planning and Initial Interventions
    (by Kathi Nader and Robert Pynoos, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, Program In Trauma, Violence and Sudden Bereavement)
  • Practical tips for military families living with combat stress and PTSD (by Dr. Frank Ochberg, Military Family Network, and Megan Turak 
  • The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

How Can I Offer My Help?
To offer mental health or medical assistance for victims and other mental health professionals

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency has additional information on how to help with the relief effort. Medical personnel willing to help in the effort should call 800-801-8092. Those wishing to volunteer general services should call 518-431-7600. More information is available at the FEMA web site http://www.fema.gov
• The American Red Cross of Greater New York (ARC/GNY) is seeking mental health professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, certified social workers, psychiatric nurses) who are licensed and certified by the State of New York. ARC/GNY expects a need for these professionals for several weeks to come. Call 1-877-Red-Cross (733-2767) or go to the Red Cross Chapter at 65th and Amsterdam and report to B.J. Crown who is the officer in charge. Bring proof of licensure and photo identification (e.g. driver's license).
• Medical personnel willing to go to New York can also contact Excel Emergency Medical Services at 815-937-3929.
• The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) provides comfort and care to those who have faced the loss of a loved one in the U.S. Armed Forces. The organization is looking for peer mentors or volunteers. http://www.taps.org
• Arlington, Somerset Co. Pennsylvania, California airports and other locations The local Red Cross chapters in Arlington County, Somerset County and in Boston, LA and San Francisco are mobilizing volunteers. Licensed psychologists interested in offering disaster mental health services are asked to contact their local Red Cross chapter to volunteer. You will find your local chapter in the telephone book or use the zip code-based chapter locator at http://www.redcross.org.
  
• For more information on organizations assisting with the relief effort visit http://www.helping.org/promos/cs_wtc.adp

To donate money or property

• The United Way of New York and the New York Community Trust have established a fund to help the victims of the attacks and their families. The September Eleventh Fund will provide immediate support to established emergency assistance agencies. Anyone wishing to contribute may send their donations in care of United Way, 2 Park Ave, New York, New York 10016 or call: 212-251-4035
• Donations are also being accepted on United Way of New York City's Web site: http://www.uwnyc.org.
• To donate to the American Red Cross contact them at 1-800-HELP-NOW or via the web at http://www.redcross.org/
• To donate to the Salvation Army contact them at 1-800-SAL-ARMY or via the web at http://www.salvationarmy.org/

To donate blood

• Call the American Red Cross is at 800-GIVE-LIFE to schedule an appointment near where you live.

About ISTSS
The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) was founded in 1985 for professionals to share information about the effects of trauma. ISTSS is dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge about policy, program and service initiatives that seek to reduce traumatic stressors and their immediate and long-term consequences.

ISTSS provides a forum for the sharing of research, clinical strategies, public policy concerns and theoretical formulations on trauma in the United States and around the world. Members of ISTSS include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, counselors, researchers, administrators, advocates, journalists, clergy and others with an interest in the study and treatment of traumatic stress.

ISTSS members come from a variety of clinical and non-clinical settings around the world, including public and private health facilities, private practice, universities, non-university research foundations and many others.

ISTSS Headquarters
111 Deer Lake Road, Suite 100
Deerfield, Illinois 60015 USA
Tel: (847) 480-9028
Fax: (847) 480-9282
istss@istss.org