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Natural disasters, climate change and mental health considerations for rural Australia.

Morrissey SA, Reser JP

School of Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. s.morrissey@griffith.edu.au

This paper addresses a very salient feature of rural life and landscapes in Australia, natural disasters, and offers a psychological perspective on individual and community perceptions, responses, preparedness and planning. The convergent perspective offered reflects research and practice findings and insights from social and environmental psychology, as well as clinical, health and community psychology. The objective is to briefly characterise how these psychological approaches frame the psychological and social reality of these threats and events, and to canvas what insights and evidence-based best practice psychology have to offer allied professionals and paraprofessionals, and rural communities, as they experience and come to terms with the vagaries and extremes of the Australian environment.

Published 19 April 2007 in Aust J Rural Health, 15(2): 120-5.
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