Mission
Recent events, including the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001; the devastating Asian/Pacific tsunami of 2004; and the ongoing toll of the Iraq war have served to draw public attention to the plight of trauma survivors and the families of victims. Trauma exposure is frequently associated not only with injury, death and economic loss, but also with painful and debilitating emotional disorders, both acute and long-term. Most people with post-traumatic psychological problems are never adequately diagnosed nor treated, leading to far worse outcomes. While the research on treatment of post-traumatic disorders has made great strides in the last decade, existing knowledge has not been broadly translated into useful interventions for the survivors of traumatic events. It is imperative that the mental health field develops models, techniques and tools for delivering effective, feasible treatments to survivors suffering post-traumatic disorders.
The Dartmouth Trauma Interventions Research Center (DTIRC) is currently focused on major initiatives in several areas of immediate clinical and public health concern:
- Adaptation and evaluation of post-traumatic interventions for patients in primary medical treatment settings including general internal medicine
- Development of best practice guidelines for interventions following mass disaster, including assessing provider perspectives on disaster mental health services: New York City
- Treatment of post-traumatic disorders of adolescents