This weekend I was occupied with a course in disaster psychology, this specific module was focusing on catastrophes. We talked about a lot things that were interesting, horrifying and touching at the same time. Seeing all the terrible things that people go through, and survive, gives a certain feeling of amazement and hope: we are so much more stronger when we get the right kind of help. Disaster psychology is a field of psychology that concentrates on the survivors and how to help them. It was refreshing to get a more practical approach to psychology instead of all the theory that forms such a great part of psychology studies: the theory is interesting, but my wild guess is that most people study this specific subject in order to understand people, to help them. I definitely think I will study this field more.
The lecturer, a woman who is specialized in this kind of work, also gave us the “quote of the day” – a quote that does not only relate to disasters, but which can also be applied to most aspects in life:
If you want to see the world, and experience all it has to offer, you will need two things: humility and respect. If you lack these qualities, you’d better stay in your little village and gossip about your neighbours.
1 comment:
Disaster Psychology in general is a fairly new field. It focuses primarily on culturally relevant, and community based intervention for crisis as well as on stress reduction for survivors. People in this field work to research and plan programs and projects that will improve the psychological and emotional health of people affected by disasters. Thanks a lot.
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