The 921 earthquake last month did more than topple buildings, collapse bridges and claim over 2,300 lives. It also had a major impact on the mental health of quake survivors.
As a result, mental health and social work professionals are still finding it difficult to reach those who are suffering psychologically from the impact of the quake, according to experts and lawmakers.
At a forum yesterday, lawmakers said psychological relief resources have not operated well in the relief action. A major problem, they said, lies in the fact that frontline workers in the disaster areas were volunteers who did not have a professional training in mental health, while professionals had less access to those who needed emergency treatment.
DPP lawmaker Lai Ching-ling (
Psychological consultation and psychiatry services for victims of the 921 earthquake began just a few days after the quake. Psychologists and students, as well as psychiatrists from 21 public psychiatry centers and hospitals, have joined a variety of professional groups helping people traumatized by the disaster.
Wu Shun-chih, (
But these volunteers ended up suffering trauma themselves.
"Our workers began to feel a lot of stress after long exposure to victims' bodies," said Wu.
"Fast and flexible mobilization is the advantage of civil groups; therefore, they are able to contact more clients as frontline workers. Whereas psychiatrists, limited by their regular work schedules, were less able to be mobilized to provide direct services to people at the disaster sites," said Yang Yi-hong (
Psychiatrists and counseling workers could only stay in secondary locations and take phone calls from quake victims, Yang said.
One problem that arose was that many workers on the front lines were untrained volunteers lacking professional counseling skills. As a result, they were less able to identify traumatized patients who needed emergency psychiatric help, Yang said.
"We should set up seed programs to train volunteers and social workers who offer direct services at the disaster sites," Yang said .
Echoing Yang, DPP legislator Hung Chi-chang (
"Psychological relief is a long-term project for local communities, and schools teachers and local officials play a crucial role in the process," he said.
According to Hung, the lack of mobilization among mental health professionals is a result of a lack of registered mental health professionals here.
Taiwan has only 632 registered psychiatrists at hospitals and psychiatric centers. The Clinical Psychologist Law (臨床心理師法), which would license college psychology majors to give psychological treatment, is bogged own in the legislature.
Lai and Hung urged Department of Health officials to set up an integration project to incorporate volunteers and teachers for long-term psychological relief in the future.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft