OBJECTIVES: Shelter hospital was an alternative way to provide large-scale medical isolation and treatment for people with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Due to various reasons, patients admitted to the large shelter hospital was reported high level of psychological distress, so did the healthcare workers. This study aims to introduce a comprehensive and multifaceted psychosocial crisis intervention model. METHODS: The psychosocial crisis intervention model was provided to 200 patients and 240 healthcare workers in Wuhan Wuchang shelter hospital. Patient volunteers and organized peer support, client-centered culturally sensitive supportive care, timely delivery of scientific information about COVID-19 and its complications, mental health knowledge acquisition of non-psychiatric healthcare workers, group activities, counseling and education, virtualization of psychological intervention, consultation and liaison were exhibited respectively in the model. Pre-service survey was done in 38 patients and 49 healthcare workers using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire 2-item (PHQ-2) scale, and the Primary Care PTSD screen for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (PC-PTSD-5). Forty-eight healthcare workers gave feedback after the intervention. RESULTS: The psychosocial crisis intervention model was successfully implemented by 10 mental health professionals and was well-accepted by both patients and healthcare workers in the shelter hospital. In pre-service survey, 15.8% of 38 patients were with anxiety, 55.3% were with stress, and 15.8% were with depression; 16.3% of 49 healthcare workers were with anxiety, 26.5% were with stress, and 22.4% were with depression. In post-service survey, 62.5% of 48 healthcare workers thought it was very practical, 37.5% thought more practical; 37.5% of them thought it was very helpful to relief anxiety and insomnia, and 27.1% thought much helpful; 37.5% of them thought it was very helpful to recognize patients with anxiety and insomnia, and 29.2% thought much helpful; 35.4% of them thought it was very helpful to deal with patients' anxiety and insomnia, and 37.5% thought much helpful. CONCLUSIONS Psychological crisis intervention is feasible, acceptable, and associated with positive outcomes. Future tastings of this model in larger population and different settings are warranted.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Crisis Intervention ; Psychosocial Intervention ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Mental Health ; Depression/epidemiology* ; Health Personnel/psychology* ; Anxiety/etiology*

Suicide is the fifth-leading cause of death in Korea, accounting for 4.4% of all deaths. Therefore, suicide is a serious medical problem, as well as a social problem. In this paper, we provide a social psychiatric perspective on suicide and recommend suicide prevention strategies based on programs with roots in the Gwangju mental health pilot project and an analysis of suicide patterns in Seoul. First, early intervention and active case management are mandatory to prevent suicide among individuals with mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and alcohol use disorder. To this end, mental health and welfare centers, addiction management centers, suicide prevention centers, and care program after a suicide attempt in the emergency department of general hospitals should collaborate via a multidisciplinary approach. Second, crisis intervention should be provided in collaboration with the police, government officials, and mental health agencies to people who are at immediate risk of suicide. Additionally, case management services should be expanded for individuals who are treated at hospitals for psychiatric illness. Third, social welfare services should be offered to low-income individuals at risk of suicide. Fourth, the mass media should restrict reporting about suicide and follow the relevant reporting guidelines. Finally, access to methods of committing suicide, such as charcoal for burning and agrichemical poisoning, should be regulated by the government. Proactive psychosocial strategies implemented with government support will prevent suicide-related deaths and decrease the suicide rate in Korea.
Burns ; Case Management ; Cause of Death ; Charcoal ; Cooperative Behavior ; Crisis Intervention ; Depression ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Gwangju ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Media ; Mental Health ; Occupational Groups ; Pilot Projects ; Poisoning ; Police ; Schizophrenia ; Seoul ; Social Problems ; Social Welfare ; Suicide

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the experience of volunteer psychiatrists who provided mental health interventions to adolescents and teachers of Danwon High School from April 16, 2014, to November 30, 2014. METHODS: Data for this study were collected from 72 volunteer psychiatrists about their intervention experiences for 212 adolescents and 32 teachers during the eight months following the disaster. Developmental survey themes were identified, and coding was used to analyze the data. In addition, qualitative data analysis was performed using ATLAS.ti (version 8.2, 2018, ATLAS.ti GmbH). RESULTS: A volunteer prepared with appropriate mental health interventions may facilitate the emergency response to a disaster. Intervention services included psychological first aid, psychoeducation, screening, anxiety reduction techniques, and group therapy. CONCLUSION: In the acute aftermath of the Sewol Ferry disaster of April 16, 2014, volunteer psychiatrists were able to provide mental health interventions in a disaster response setting. The outcomes from this study have important policy and mental health system implications for volunteer psychiatrists. The results of this study constitute the basis of a better understanding of the essential mechanisms of crisis interventions after a disaster.
Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Clinical Coding ; Crisis Intervention ; Disasters ; Emergencies ; First Aid ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health ; Psychiatry ; Psychotherapy, Group ; Statistics as Topic ; Volunteers

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and complicated grief in Korean high school students who experienced a peer suicide. METHODS: A total of 956 students were included in the statistical analysis. One week after a peer suicide, a school-based crisis intervention program was conducted. The cohort was followed-up at one week and five months after a peer suicide. The program consists of screening tests, educational sessions, and further interview with psychiatric specialists for the selected group. Screening tests were conducted for all students to measure the Child Report of Post-traumatic Symptoms (CROPS), the post-traumatic stress symptoms (The University of California at Los Angeles post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] reaction index; UCLA-PTSD-RI), the anxiety symptoms (The Korean-Beck Anxiety Inventory; K-BAI), the depressive symptoms (The Korean-Beck Depression Inventory-II; K-BDI-II), and the complicated grief reaction (The Inventory of Complicated Grief; ICG). For statistical analysis, the SPSS Statistics 21.0 program was used. RESULTS: At baseline and five months follow-ups, 8.6% and 2.9% of the students showed post-traumatic stress symptoms. At five months follow-up, there was a statistically significant decline in the post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, depression, and complicated grief among the ‘trauma group.’ A higher proportion of the female students showed post-traumatic stress symptoms after the incident of peer suicide than the male students. CONCLUSION: School-based crisis intervention helps improvement of trauma-related symptoms. It might be an effective way to prevent suicide spreading among students by alleviating trauma-related symptoms.
Anxiety ; California ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Crisis Intervention* ; Depression ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Grief ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Specialization ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Suicide*

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to describe the psychiatric symptoms in the teachers from Danwon High School who were exposed to the sinking of the Motor Vessel Sewol. METHODS: Data were collected from 32 teachers who underwent psychiatric interventions by 16 volunteer psychiatrists for 3 months after the sinking of the Motor Vessel Sewol. RESULTS: The most commonly diagnosed clinical diagnosis in the teachers were normal reaction, acute stress disorder and adjustment disorder. Psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depressed mood and sleep disturbances were also observed. CONCLUSION: In the acute aftermath of the Sewol Ferry sinking on April 16, 2014, psychiatrists volunteered to provide professional psychiatric interventions to Danwon High School teachers. These results suggest the importance of crisis intervention focused on the teachers who are exposed to disasters. The implications for future research and interventions are discussed.
Adjustment Disorders ; Anxiety ; Crisis Intervention ; Diagnosis ; Disasters ; Humans ; Psychiatry ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute ; Volunteers

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to investigate the posttraumatic growth, a positive mental and psychological change and related factors experienced by firefighters, in order to prevent PTSD and to for use as basic data for mental health promotion. METHODS: This study was a descriptive research study with 186 firefighters working in two fire stations in Busan Metropolitan City. It was conducted from August 1 to 31, 2015. There were 5 research tools in the structured survey, including IES-R-K, Resilience Scale, FACES-III, OCQ, and K-PTGI. Collected data were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis using SPSS/WIN 18.0. RESULTS: The related factors affecting posttraumatic growth in firefighers were family cohesion (β=.15, p=.044), organizational commitment (β=.61, p<.001), gender (β=.16, p=.023) and amount of work experience in the current field (β=.28, p=.001). The explanatory power of these factors for posttraumatic growth was 43.1%. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a need to develop and distribute intervention programs that focus on strengthening the resilience of individuals, organizational commitment and family cohesion to promote post-traumatic growth, instead of focusing on crisis intervention and follow-up programs after traumatic experiences.
Busan ; Crisis Intervention ; Firefighters* ; Fires ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Mental Health ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

An analysis of domestic and foreign cohort studies of disaster victims can suggest directions for domestic cohort studies of disaster. Research papers on disaster cohorts were found with search engines such as PubMed and RISS. The key words used were disaster, trauma, cohort, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Foreign research papers on human-made disaster (n=16), technological disaster (n=11), natural disaster (n=12), and domestic research papers on disaster (n=6) were reviewed. Analysis revealed that domestic cohort research on disaster victims is lacking compared to foreign countries. This results in the current limitations in planning for active intervention and support for disaster victims. To establish appropriate crisis intervention and management plans for disaster situations, a cohort study of disaster victims should be actively implemented through epidemiologic survey and assessment of risk factors on mental health, PTSD, depression, anxiety and other deleterious outcomes.
Anxiety ; Cohort Studies* ; Crisis Intervention ; Depression ; Disaster Victims* ; Disasters* ; Mental Health ; Risk Factors ; Search Engine ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

PURPOSE: This study is conducted to develop a crisis intervention program for suicide attempters in psychiatric inpatients, and to evaluate its effectiveness. METHODS: The program was developed based on cognitive behavioral therapy. A single group pre-post test design was used with 15 patients admitted to a psychiatric unit for suicide attempt to evaluate the effectiveness on suicide ideation, depression, hopelessness, and problem solving ability. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN program. RESULTS: The developed program was composed of six sessions; orientation and contraction, assessment of suicide risk factors and protect factors, safety planning, reconstruction of negative cognition, enhancing problem solving ability, empowering hope. The crisis intervention program significantly decreased depression (Z=3.35, p=.001), hopelessness (Z=2.92, p=.003), suicide ideation (Z=2.92, p=.003), and improved problem solving skill (Z=-1.99, p=.046). CONCLUSION: The developed crisis intervention was an effective cognitive behavior therapy which could decrease depression, hopelessness, and suicide ideation, as well as increase problem solving skill when applied to hospitalized suicide attempters.
Cognition ; Cognitive Therapy ; Crisis Intervention* ; Depression ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Hope ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Problem Solving ; Risk Factors ; Suicide*

In this paper, the current status of adolescent suicide prevention and intervention are addressed, including areas related to medicine, counseling, mental health nursing, social welfare, and education. Many preventive efforts and intervention programs have been developed and implemented, but the results have been mostly minimal or unfruitful and many problems arose. First, there is a lack of epidemiological research and developmentally appropriate data on adolescent suicide. Thus evidence-based research on adolescent suicide necessary to make important decisions regarding prevention strategies and the allocation of budgets and human resources is not available. Second, there are only a handful of experts with an appropriate level of education and training. Current suicide prevention efforts are performed as a part of crisis intervention, but only a few persons know how to do so effectively. Finally, a good networking and referral system among each area of service is needed. One of the most important issues might be balancing the levels of service available to each subject and to provide a proper, systematized intervention and continuous crisis management services. In order to create an effective networking and referral system among several service providers for adolescent suicide prevention, we need robust support from the Korean government and local communities.
Adolescent ; Budgets ; Counseling ; Crisis Intervention ; Hand ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Referral and Consultation ; Social Welfare ; Suicide

As a momentous disaster, earthquake would bring severe psychological trauma to children, with an adverse effect not only on the physiological functions, but also on their behaviors, emotions, and cognition, and the short-term and long-term consequences are much greater in children than in adults. The children of different ages have different psychological reactions, so psychological intervention varies with children's age. Psychological intervention is still important long afterwards to prevent permanent psychological trauma in children.
Adolescent ; Age Factors ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Crisis Intervention ; Earthquakes ; Humans ; Infant ; Mental Disorders ; therapy