Mental Health Care for Survivors and Healthcare Workers in the Aftermath of an Outbreak

Abstract

When pandemics sweep across communities, they leave behind tremendous suffering in their wake. It is not only the illness that becomes a pandemic, but the same can be inferred about fear, mourning, and despair. The reverberations of loss are felt in a multitude of ways by those left behind. Often times, the mental health issues of affected persons and entire communities do not receive the attention they deserve in the light of other competing, immediate needs imparted by the devastation of the pandemic. This chapter aims to develop strategies for providing psychiatric care to survivors and their families, in the aftermath of a pandemic outbreak. Lastly, special considerations in the application of psychopharmacological interventions are reviewed.