Two separate documents prepared by the Sabancı University Individual Academic Development Center (BAGEM) describe ways to cope with the negative psychological impact of the earthquake disaster.

In the documents titled “Psychological First Aid and Process Management” and “Psychological First Aid and Process Management” prepared by BAGEM, attention is drawn to many useful issues related to the recovery process.

Two separate documents titled “Psychosocial Assistance Guide after Disaster” and “Psychological First Aid and Process Management” prepared by the Sabancı University Individual Academic Development Center (BAGEM) brought together solutions for the negative effects of the earthquake disaster on social psychology.

In order to support the cooperation of different support services in an integrative environment, Personal and Academic Development Center Director Prof. Dr. Alpay Filiztekin said, “With these documents, we aimed to create a guide for the correct understanding of the psychological problems that emerged after the earthquake disaster and the correct management of the process.

We hope that both booklets will benefit all segments of society in these difficult days to understand the situation they are in and to follow a course accordingly.”

After the last earthquake disaster, in the “Psychosocial Assistance Guide after Disaster” prepared by Clinical Psychologist Tuğçe Küpeli from BAGEM Team, it is stated that natural disasters; It is pointed out that it can cause traumatic effects due to the conditions that negatively affect the physical, social, emotional functionality or mental well-being of individuals. The negative effects of a temporary shock, fear, anger, guilt, shame, helplessness and/or hopelessness experienced after a disaster are listed as follows: Confusion about place-space-time, insomnia and sleep problems, Loss of appetite or increase in appetite, indecision. , inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, general apathy, impaired immune system, restlessness, insecurity, alienation from people, sudden outbursts of anger, feeling rejected or abandoned, being overly judgmental and accusatory, bodily aches and pains, irregular heartbeat, nausea, appetite change, experiencing sudden startles.

In the document, in which suggestions are listed for coping with these negative effects, it is recommended to seek support from a mental health professional if it is thought that psychological trauma cannot be coped with.

In the document titled “Psychological First Aid and Process Management” prepared by Clinical Psychologist Kaan Kabukçu who works at BAGEM, situations that require psychological first aid are listed and the important steps of psychological first aid are explained. Accordingly, the steps involved in psychological first aid are listed as follows:

meeting and bonding,
Identifying basic psychological and physical needs,
To help meet the needs,
Providing referrals for psychiatric emergencies,
To protect from the long-term effects of the event,
To facilitate normalization,
To support stabilization,
Guiding on acute traumatic stress responses,
Supporting coping mechanisms
Increasing resilience.

Psychological first aid is not a treatment method; In the document, which emphasizes that it is a principle that aims to look, listen, connect and guide, it is emphasized that expert support should be sought if the side effects that occur in the acute period do not go away and make daily life difficult for the person.

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency