USU Psychiatrists Develop Global Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry Training for American Psychiatric Association

The Uniformed Services University, in conjunction with the APA, has created a new course entitled "Disaster and Prevention Psychiatry: Protecting Health and Fostering Community Resilience"

A group of people in military fatigues sit in a circle
USU's new course was created through its Department of Psychiatry and the Center for the Study of Traumatic
Stress, in conjunction with the APA. (USU photo)

June 21, 2023 by Emily Jessee

In the wake of rising global disasters and their impact on the population, the Uniformed Services University (USU), in conjunction with the American Psychiatric Association (APA), has created a first-of-its-kind course to ready understanding of and preparedness for such crises.

This groundbreaking course – “Disaster and Prevention Psychiatry: Protecting Health and Fostering Community Resilience” – offers a comprehensive, vital focus on public mental health principles and how they affect individuals and their disrupted communities. The online disaster psychiatric course is available at no cost to the public, accessible by creating a free account on APA’s Learning Center. The course also features eight continuing education credits upon completion. While created with psychiatrists and other mental health professionals in mind, this course contains valuable information on the widespread effects of varying global disasters that is highly useful to first responders, disaster workers, policy makers, and community leaders.

U.S. Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) Joshua Morganstein, deputy director of USU's CSTS, and Associate Professor and Vice Chair of USU's Department of Psychiatry, Dr. James "Curt" West, developed the course for more than a year alongside APA. (Courtesy photo)
U.S. Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) Joshua Morganstein, deputy director of USU's CSTS, and Associate
Professor and Vice Chair of USU's Department of Psychiatry, Dr. James "Curt" West, developed the course for 
more than a year alongside APA. (Courtesy photo)

“This training will be of great value to healthcare professionals, disaster planners, and  community leaders across a wide spectrum of professions,” says U.S. Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) Joshua Morganstein, deputy director of USU’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS). 

Associate Professor and Vice Chair of USU's Department of Psychiatry Dr. James "Curt" West, a co-developer of the course, expresses that the training “fills a critical void in knowledge dissemination at a time where our world is being confronted by an increasing number of disasters that are leaving a profound psychological and behavioral health toll in their wake.”

The course’s nine modules cover topics ranging from prevention to emergency response, including: basic concepts in disaster and preventive psychiatry; psychological and behavioral effects of disasters; risk and vulnerability to disasters; public health approaches to interventions and disasters; psychological first aid; risk and crisis communication; leadership consultation; protecting disaster responders; and disaster preparedness.

“Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry” aims to contribute significantly to the field of Disaster Psychiatry education, and was created through the foundational work by USU’s Department of Psychiatry and its CSTS.