2011

While the American infrastructure toward major natural disaster response has been significantly altered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there is still a need for improvements in understanding the behaviors, perceptions, and needs of those impacted by the storm so that the mental health community can better respond to the next disaster. This article will focus on the needs and perceptions of the storm survivors as described by a cadre of school and mental health counselors who experienced the aftermath of the recovery effort in their own “backyard”. It will also discuss possible disaster recovery options as proposed by prior experience of those directly impacted by natural disaster.