Military and Disaster Psychiatry

Military and disaster psychiatrists assist both trauma-exposed people and organizations who have experienced extreme circumstances that have the potential to damage mental health and impair organizational, community, and individual functioning. While most trauma-exposed individuals remain psychologically healthy in the longer term, there is a strong evidence base showing that high-quality social support and experiencing a low, but not no, pressure environment are the most ideal conditions to support recovery. Ensuring that basic needs such as provision of shelter and food are met are also important perquisites to a good state of post-conflict or post-disaster mental health.