Mental Health and Natural Disaster - Orvieto

“The invisible wounds: physical and mental health in the communities hit by the earthquake in central Italy".

It is the title of the course in favor of the populations affected by the earthquake events in Central Italy for training and supporting leaders and doctors of local communities. The course is organized by the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, Cambridge, MA (USA), under the patronage of the Municipality of Orvieto, and the support of the Regional Council of Civil Protection and the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), Washington DC, USA. The course was held in Orvieto from May 19-21, 2017. The Harvard Program Refugee Trauma (HPRT) operates in the field of post-traumatic stress, training psychologists, social workers, and doctors in the provision of psychological support for victims of natural disasters, wars and genocides. It is present around the world with figures trained in their Global Mental Health school in Orvieto, Italy. In regards to the field of natural disasters, HPRT has worked in Japan after the Kobe earthquake and after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, as well as in L'Aquila after the 2009 earthquake. HPRT has held courses in Orvieto for the past 11 years, from which have passed more than 650 psychologists and other professionals living in 56 different countries around the world. The course has involved important representatives of the areas affected by the earthquake, including the Civil Protection, Red Cross, doctors, teachers, mayors, school directors, psychologists, religious persons, and other people who are in contact with the local communities. The course aims to form a basic training on possible interventions 8-10 months after the event occurs, which is when post-traumatic stress becomes most evident. The course was held by the members of the Harvard Italian Team led by Prof. Richard Mollica, who is the director of the HPRT.

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