The Department of Mental Health has developed Disaster Response Teams in each of the ten Community Mental Health Centers statewide to provide mental health services to the survivors of disasters of all types such as natural, technological, bio-terrorist, and other critical incidents. These teams can respond to local events independently and to regional or statewide events as part of the comprehensive State Emergency Operations Plan.

The Disaster Response Teams are comprised of a core group of agency employees as well as a variety of professionals and volunteers from the community. They can be contacted through the crisis services of each agency for local events and through a local agency or Vermont Emergency Management for regional and statewide events.

Mental Health Services that are Provided

• Psychological First Aid
• Crisis Counseling
• Psycho-education
• Sudden Death Notification
• Community Outreach
• Mental Health Consultation, Assessment, and Referral

Resources for Public Health Emergencies

• Work-Related Stress in District Health Offices: A Guide for Supervisors - Stress prevention and management should be addressed in two critical contexts: the organization and the individual. Adopting a preventive perspective allows both workers and organizations to anticipate rather than simply reacting to a crisis when it occurs. 
• Work-Related Stress in District Health Offices: A Guide to Self-Care - Outlines approaches for stress prevention and management.
   

For More Information

Please contact Gary Gordon through Washington County Mental Health Services at (802) 229-0591 or Frank Reed through the Department of Mental Health at (802) 828-3824.