'There to pick up the pieces.' New Paltz institute offers post-disaster mental health help

NEW PALTZ – Houses, stores and offices can be rebuilt after a catastrophe such as an earthquake. Streets repaved. Schools reopened. But how does one stop disaster victims from quaking on the inside or shaking, literally, as they sob?

And how can one help others understand what’s happening inside a traumatized person’s head – especially if it’s a child?

SUNY New Paltz’s Institute for Disaster Mental Health is more in demand than ever these days, say those who’ve worked with IDMH. It's  helping governments, individuals and organizations deal with some of the world’s most difficult dilemmas – helping provide strength to pick up the pieces when things fall apart.

New Paltz professor and IDMH director Amy Nitza and the institute's staff are staying busy - whether jetting about the U.S. (or the world) to counsel people or developing mental health lessons, and handling COVID-19 and calamities of every sort.

Mental health help after disaster 

Nitza returned on Wednesday after two weeks away on behalf of the Mid Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. First, Nitza went to Pensacola, Florida, to assist victims of a recent hurricane.

Then, she was on the ground near Fresno, California, helping those dealing with the Creek Fire, as the West Coast continues burning and families unravel following at least 33 deaths.

The fire, the largest single blaze in California history, had destroyed 331,966 acres as of Friday, while causing 20,000 residents of Fresno and Madera counties to evacuate, and damaging or destroying 927 structures, according to state fire officials.

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“There really isn’t an institution that’s like IDMH,” said Andrew Omeara, 23, who’s earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health at New Paltz. “That’s one of the reasons I came to New Paltz – to work with a program that’s so unique. It’s one of the few doing this type of disaster mental health work.”

Besides Nitza, 49, and Omeara, the institute's graduate assistant, IDMH includes another faculty member, Karla Vermeulen, and three staff members. So, what do they say, and teach others to say, to someone who’s lost almost everything?

Learning how to respond

“Sometimes it’s nothing,” Nitza said. Disaster mental health professionals “flip the ‘Don’t stand there, do something’ phrase on its head. Sometimes I just stand there, have an empathetic presence, and I'm a mirror that reflects back people’s experiences, so they feel heard and seen and they know that someone understands them.”

Nitza has continued to grow the institute’s reputation since taking it over in September 2016, following the retirement of IDMH's founding director, New Paltz psychology Prof. James Halpern.

“I’m impressed by Amy and her grasp of trauma and her experience teaching and preparing the next generation of (mental health disaster) responders,” said Terry Tippery, a volunteer with the Red Cross of Idaho and Montana.

Tippery, who oversaw Nitza’s work with Creek Fire victims and responders, has nearly 40 years of experience counseling and working with trauma victims as a clinical social worker.

Disaster mental health counselors “can normalize people’s experiences and give them a chance to tell their stories,” Tippery said. “A lot of people think, ‘I shouldn’t be having such a difficult time with this,’ but why not? Your whole world has been turned upside down.”

Teaching others around the world

Besides offering on-the-ground counseling and mental health education to first responders, aid volunteers and victims of disasters, IDMH has received funding from, and developed lessons for, organizations such as UNICEF USA.

UNICEF USA is an affiliate of the United Nations’ massive humanitarian aid organization. It tasked IDMH with creating lessons for Puerto Rico’s school teachers to help children overcome mental health issues, following Hurricane Maria’s devastation in late 2017.

SUNY New Paltz's IDMH has kept up its work in Puerto Rico since then, while also working with those dealing with distress in Haiti.

What sets IDMH apart is “not only a curriculum that’s evidence-based but lessons that are culturally sensitive to the nuances on the island” of Puerto Rico, said Edison Sabala, director of humanitarian response and impact partnerships for UNICEF USA. “Working with SUNY (New Paltz) has given us really engaging, effective ways to address trauma.”

daxelrod@th-record.com