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Terrorism, human-made and natural disasters as a professional and ethical challenge to psychiatry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Joop de Jong ,
Ivan Komproe  and
Mark Van Ommeren
Joop de Jong
Affiliation:
Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, WHO Collaborating Center (Ethnic Minorities and Refugees), Keizersgracht 329, 1016 EE Amsterdam, The Netherlands, email tpooffice@pom.nl
Ivan Komproe
Affiliation:
Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, WHO Collaborating Center (Ethnic Minorities and Refugees), Keizersgracht 329, 1016 EE Amsterdam, The Netherlands, email tpooffice@pom.nl
Mark Van Ommeren
Affiliation:
Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, WHO Collaborating Center (Ethnic Minorities and Refugees), Keizersgracht 329, 1016 EE Amsterdam, The Netherlands, email tpooffice@pom.nl
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Abstract

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The consequences of terrorism, wars and natural disasters are a challenge to the psychiatric profession. The large numbers of people estimated to have mental health problems surpass the capacities of existing mental health services, whether modern or traditional. The bulk of the 35 million refugees and internally displaced people worldwide reside in countries that, on average, have less than one psychiatrist or psychologist per 100 000 people (WHO, 2001). Even the 500 000 people estimated to need some form of psychological support after the attack in New York on 11 September 2001 exceeded the service capacity, despite the fact that New York has the highest density of mental health professionals in the world (Herman & Susser, this issue, pp. 2–4). Elsewhere, many survivors of various types of disaster reside in peripheral areas of countries and are not covered by modern mental health services.

Type
Thematic Paper – Terrorism
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , July 2003 , pp. 8 - 9
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2003

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