Promoting emotional healing among children, families, and providers in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria

Popoff, L. E. (Leslie)
Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention, 10 Wooleys Lane, Apt. 2D, 11023, Great neck, New York. USA

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 10-07-2019, 15:30 - 17:00

Keywords

Trauma, Natural Disaster, Resilience, Emotional Healing, Crisis Intervention

Summary

I was part of a small humanitarian team from the UN affiliated NGO, the Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention, that traveled to Puerto Rico three months after Hurricane Maria devasted the Island. There we collaborated with the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla to work with children, teens, and adults from various settings (schools, orphanages, senior centers, universities, hospitals) as well as mental health providers and first responders. I will discuss the 7-Step Integrative Healing Model that we utilized, which incorporates and promotes emotional release, emotional intelligence, self-care, mindfulness, and empathy through the use of didactic and experiential learning, meditation and mindfulness, natural remedies and physical movement. This integrative model helps people work through trauma, learn self-help strategies and improve coping skills.

 

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