TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 4 439 disaster if it is to survive the aftermath. Mental health agencies need to develop strong collaborative relationships with other agencies prior to an emergency. Putting into place evidence-based mental health practices provides a strong foundation for moving forward after a disaster. Staff members need to be flexible in their problem-solving because a culture of flexibility, in contrast to rigidity, helps agencies survive disasters. Specific advice regarding preparing to survive a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina included the following: create an inventory of equipment to help report losses; operate within financial limitations; create a disaster plan that includes specific actions for before, during and after the disaster; create electronic records and have a server outside the area of operation; cross-train office staff; create and test a disaster communication plan; employ a staff grant writer; and create emergency plans for clients. This advice should be beneficial to counselor educators who teach classes in which disaster counseling topics are addressed. Conclusions After reviewing the demographics of New Orleans 10 years after the hurricane and communicating with eight mental health professionals who were working in the city prior to the hurricane, I offer the following observations. Overall, most mental health agencies have maintained the level of services they were providing before Hurricane Katrina, although some have actually expanded. Before Hurricane Katrina, there were not enough counseling and other mental health services for poor and middle-class families in New Orleans, and the same situation continues to exist 10 years after the storm. A focus and specialty has emerged in most mental health agencies in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina around issues of trauma. Consequently, the study of trauma has become quite popular in the professional literature (see Alvarez, 2009; Brown-Rice, 2013; Buss, Warren, & Horton, 2015; Cohen et al., 2009; Fernandez & Short, 2014; Hudspeth, 2015; Jones & Cureton, 2014; Jaycox et al., 2010; Langley et al., 2013; Parker & Henfield, 2012; Tosone, Bauwens, & Glassman, 2014). As one mental health professional pointed out, a natural disaster not only precipitates the distress resulting from the crisis experiences, but also brings unresolved prior trauma to the surface for many clients. Since trauma is likely to be a significant focus of mental health agencies after a disaster, disaster preparedness plans should include the education of all staff members on counseling trauma victims. It appears that mental health agency personnel in other locations who want to learn from the experiences of practitioners who dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans should consider the advice given by several mental health professionals with whom I communicated—prepare to be flexible in case disaster occurs. Perhaps counselors and administrators who have leadership skills that include creativity and flexibility would be ideal for agencies after disasters have occurred, as opposed to those who have a high need for structure or who have trouble operating without clear procedural guidelines. While partnerships and collaborative arrangements have the potential for helping mental health agencies survive and even prosper after a disaster, such arrangements should be evaluated carefully prior to agreement. Leaders in one of the New Orleans agencies attributed their growth and expansion to collaborative relationships and partnerships. However, several other mental health professionals appeared to have had negative experiences with collaborative arrangements and recommended that such offers be viewed with caution. Accepting time-limited financial support also