Psychological Effects of a Large Scale Disaster

On Tuesday, January 29, 2008, the first event in the Academic-Professional Security Series was held at UGA.  The series is designed to bring together professionals and academics working in the area of security to increase collaboration between the two groups.  This event was limited to fewer than 30 participants in order to encourage discussion.

The topic of the seminar was the Psychological Effects of a Large Scale Disaster.  The seminar was highlighted by a thorough presentation from Dr. Igor Khripunov of the Center for International Trade and Security covering broad areas of the topic including the likelihood of a disaster, the public’s perception of disasters and disaster preparation, and steps for mitigating psychological issues.  Dr. Jerry Gale of the UGA Department of Child and Family Development spoke briefly about a crisis counseling team for the Northeast Georgia area which was followed by a short discussion.

The attendees for the seminar represented a diverse group of disciplines.  Included among the attendees were representative from federal, state, and local law enforcement, emergency planners, psychologists, psychiatrists, hospital personnel, and others.

For further information about future seminars contact the Office of Security & Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845, visit www.osep.uga.edu/security_series, or e-mail John Newton at jmnewton@uga.edu.

Dr. Khripunov's PowerPoint presentation from the seminar is available below: