"In such cases," Aisenberg states, we try to reconstruct the lost
object as best as possible. Then we get them to understand that although
their possessions are gone, the emotions and images behind them remain.
That objects are symbols for what they still possess and which no storm
can take away from them."
In counseling younger victims, several psychologists have come up
with unique tools for allowing them to vent their anger. Aisenberg uses a
puppet with a mean face that he has named "Andrew." Kids are asked to
respond to it any way they like. They routinely "punch, kick, and hit the
puppet violently," Aisenberg reports. "Many of them will patiently wait
their turn to take out their frustrations on the doll."
Aisenberg also introduces a colleague who plays the role of a "sad
child" to a group of kids. They, in response, will hug her, try to cheer
her up and reassure her that everything is going to be okay. "Helping
other kids helps them," says Aisenberg. "That they can help others
alleviates their anxiety."
John Carnes, on the other hand, has kids draw their images of
Andrew, which he describes as "a cross between the Wizard of Oz tornado
and an image of Dennis the Menace. We've also put together a coloring
book for kids as a way to facilitate their expression and working through
of their fears. And we ask them to describe and mimic the sound of the
storm, which they say is like the sound of a freight train blowing
through.'
There are other, special considerations that affect people left
homeless in the South Dade area. Beforehand, many of the parents had
regrets about their ability to adequately provide for their children,
given their financial situations, Now they feel especially guilty for
having subjected their kids to the trauma of the storm--even though the
children survived, they feel bad for having placed them in danger.
Others, made more aware of their financial needs in the wake of the
storm, regret not having more resources to call upon in their time of
need.
"People had many problems before the storm," says Gibbs.
"Employment, for instance, is a big issue. Many didn't have steady work
before, and the effort is now being made to find them jobs. In fact,
quite a number went to the tent cities because they thought that more
work would be available in that area."
Many also have fears that, after being shuffled from one shelter to
another in the first hours and days after the storm, they will be placed
somewhere and forgotten. Almost out of the system of society beforehand,
they now feel pushed out entirely.
There are concerns, however, that a simple influx of monetary
relief won't help. The object of many therapists is to stress to people
that there is a split level of responsibility for recover-y: to first
take care of their own family, and then rebuild their lives to be more
secure than their pre-hurricane status. Many are told: "You will be
receiving help-do something with it."
Diane Blank, Ph.D., coordinator of the mental-health services of
Dade County, sums up the psychological response in this manner: "You put
a hand on their shoulder, you ask if they're okay, and they see somebody
who cares and it makes a difference to them. The job of mentalhealth
volunteers is to offer a sense of human caring, human contact in the
middle of all the red tape, all the confusion."
Yet the therapists may need therapists soon. If conditions remain
as they are and estimates of the time needed for fun recovery-18 months
by most standards---prove correct, the survivors will not be the only
victims of Hurricane Andrew. Jean Armstrong, Red Cross coordinator for
disaster mental-health services, stresses the importance of volunteers
talking out their frustrations as well. 'We arrived in Homestead with our
Superman capes intact," she says of the volunteers. "With the conditions
we're working under now-long days, no sleep, minimal comforts-that cape
begins to fall down, and eventually it wraps around our ankles and makes
us walk funny."
"The goal is to take the survivors from anger to acceptance," says
Gibbs, "while easing the stress that can lead to major mental-health
disorders. And, in order to accomplish this, there's going to be a fairly
acute need for counseling for at least six months."
Although many appear to be doing remarkably well in their efforts
to recover, there are still signs of anger, reports of recurring
nightmares, indications that the more serious effects of post-traumatic
stress disorder are setting in. The estimates are that it will take years
before many people will return to normal emotionally, to get back the
feeling of stability and security, in their lives and in their selves,
that was blown away as part of the destruction of Hurricane
Andrew.
Some, including family practitioner Carnes, however, see signs of
encouragement: 'Even people who went from shelter to shelter had a
tendency to stay together, to help each other out and take care of one
another. That's a good sign. I've seen, for instance, more American flags
here than I ever saw at the height of Desert Storm. I'm not sure what
those flags represent other than hope and defiance and the collective
determination to get through this thing."
PHOTO: In the wake of the strom and its destruction (left). (GAMMA
LIAISON)
PHOTO: Relief is doled out not only in the form of goods (inset),
but in counseling as well. (GAMMA LIAISON)
PART TWO: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ANDREW
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