The APS acknowledges the distress as well as the emotional and physical demands the current flood crisis in New South Wales is causing for many in the community, including psychologists who are supporting others as well as being impacted themselves, amidst extremely challenging circumstances.
APS CEO Dr Zena Burgess expressed concern about the social, emotional and psychological impact on all those affected – including emergency services staff and volunteers.
"The APS, including our 25,000 members around Australia, is deeply concerned about the immediate and long-term trauma and psychological impacts on people of all ages, families and communities", said Dr Burgess.
"Our thoughts go out to all those affected, as well as our colleagues in the psychology community in the region.
"Many people will find the news and images of the unfolding events extremely upsetting, and for some, previous traumatic experiences may be reactivated.
"This natural disaster comes at a time when many people in Australia are already under financial and psychological strain, and we urge anyone struggling to reach out for mental health support", said Dr Burgess.
For anyone experiencing distress, or being impacted by current events, the APS suggests:
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Reaching out to mental health support services – especially if you are at risk of being re-traumatised
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Limit media exposure, particularly if it is increasing your distress
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Talking about your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust – sharing our distress and talking about how we feel with friends, family and trusted community members can be helpful
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For anyone feeling a sense of powerlessness, taking positive action, like contributing to humanitarian aid efforts, may help
Further resources which may be helpful can be found below:
Preparing for and recovering from floods
These sheets give practical and accessible information, including advice on how to help children cope.
Psychological First Aid: An Australian guide to supporting people affected by disaster
For people working in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Published in partnership with the Australian Red Cross.
APS Disaster Response Network (DRN)
Working with Primary Health Networks, NGOs and other emergency service providers, DRN psychologists are offering a coordinated response to any requests for psychology services from those individuals and communities impacted by the current flood emergency. The DRN is designed to complement existing wellbeing services and offers proactive trauma informed support from registered psychologists.
Our calls to government
The APS has and will continue to work with government to address shortages in the psychology workforce to ensure we have the numbers to deal with the impacts of natural disasters, on top of the cost-of-living crisis and other social challenges. To this end, we are calling for reforms to:
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Psychology services through Medicare - Australians need more sessions to get timely and effective care.
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Funding for mental health services - to reduce wait times, improve access and help people get support when they need it and where they need it.
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Mental health care for young Australians - including stronger evidence-based programs in schools.
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Psychology workforce education and training - to address workforce shortages, especially in rural and remote areas.
We will continue to monitor unfolding events happening around the country. If APS members are in contact with any organisations helping the community that would benefit from the support of the APS Disaster Response Network, we welcome you sharing that local knowledge so that we can reach out to them. Contact us at [email protected]. If you would like to be involved in DRN please visit our website.
