A Quarterly Technical Assistance Bulletin on Disaster Behavioral Health

Disaster behavioral health is more than a set of clinical interventionsor the delivery of psychological first aid. The behavioral health response has to be organized and deployed in a way that fits with the greater response to disaster or our ability to reach those who could benefit from education or intervention will be limited. ICS principles provide a common base from which to begin a conversation about organizing a comprehensive behavioral health response to disaster that fits within an overall response structure. ICS is a standard, on-scene, all-hazards incident management system that is already in use by firefighters, hazardous materials teams, rescuers, and emergency medical teams