The Integrated Research on Disaster Risk International Centre of Excellence (IRDR ICoE) located in Taipei, International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), the International Council for Science, Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific (ICSU ROAP) and partners is conducting a workshop on Psychological Intervention after Disasters (PIAD) on 8 – 11 December 2014 in Mianyang, China. Co-organizers include the Chinese Psychological Society, Chinese Academy of Sciences, , the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU/IIGH), and the Center for Applied Developmental Science (CADS), Friedrich Schiller University, Jena.
The workshop is a continuation of the series of similar workshops* dealing with psychological research and practice concerning disasters, and how individuals and communities deal with disasters and its effects on their biopsychosocial well-being. The workshop is funded mainly by the Jacobs Foundation, Zurich with in-kind and other contributions from partners.
The workshop will bring up-to-date relevant basic and applied science to young investigators and academically trained practitioners of psychology in Asia and the Pacific. An international faculty from various fields of psychology who are experts in their fields will provide lectures and guidance during the workshop. Professor Sue-Huei Chen of the National Taiwan University will share her experience in psychological intervention after Chi-Chi earthquake and Morakot typhoon during the workshop. Lecture topics will include a combination of basic, applied, and translational research related to short and long-term consequences of disasters for human behavior and development in adolescence and adulthood, addressing not only negative effects but also post traumatic growth.
The workshop is intended for researchers, educators, and practitioners from the Asia-Pacific region, who have an academic background primarily in psychology, and who are interested in work on disasters. Participants will be introduced to cutting edge research concerning the role of specific contexts such as family and community, to particular manifestations of strain such as anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and to various means of evidence-based preventive means and interventions to support recovery.
A prime emphasis will be on the cultural awareness needed when generalizing scientific approaches, and on roots of individual and collective differences in responses to disasters, such as personality and resilience. The sessions will emphasize methodological rigor as a common denominator of all science, including information on longitudinal research on survivors of disasters and the analysis of randomized control trials and other ecologically feasible methodologies.
*Past Workshop reports: http://www.iupsys.net/events/capacity-building-workshops/index.html
Source: ICSU news