The recent catastrophic bushfires across Australia have been shocking and devastating for the affected communities, but also for the numerous emergency responders and others helping in myriad ways. It has had a profound impact on the countless people watching and worrying from a distance, and on those who care about the people, animals, forests, our planet, and wonder what it means for our shared future.

Across January and February this year, the APS fielded enquiries from members wanting to help with the bushfire response, and the APS Disaster Response Network (DRN) has been called on many times. The following is a brief overview of the DRN for those wanting to know where psychologists can fit in with a disaster response following a large-scale emergency.

About the network

The DRN is a national network of psychologists who have a special interest and expertise in working with individuals and communities affected by disasters and emergencies in Australia.The DRN was established in response to the Black Saturday Victorian bushfires of 7 February 2009, when it became obvious that there was a useful partnership to be supported between psychologists with an interest or expertise in disaster work, and emergency response agencies like the Australian Red Cross (ARC) interested in gaining access to additional support to assist with recovery efforts.

Over the years, many APS members in the DRN have joined webinars, completed the online APS Practice Certificate in Disaster Support, trained to run disaster support groups, worked as psychologists in the field supporting ARC workers providing psychological first aid, and undertaken wellbeing checks with hundreds of emergency responders on their return from a deployment.

Our members have been involved in responses to bushfires, floods, cyclones, as well as community-violence events like the Bourke Street incident and more recently the traumatic family violence murder of Hannah Clarke and her children.

In disaster recovery, the APS works on the principle of coordination and integration within a coordinated and planned response with the authorities and other mental health organisations. There is an emphasis, too, on the importance of building the capacity of local people and resources rather than bringing in outsiders. So while a few psychologists may be involved in the field in the hours, days and weeks after the disaster, this is more likely where it naturally falls as part of their occupational role, or if they are volunteering with the ARC as a field psychologist. The majority of psychologists will be involved in clinic-based work in the secondary prevention initiatives months and even years down the track. Others may be involved in consultant roles or training before, during or following a disaster.

APS and ARC partnership

In 2009 the APS formally established a Memorandum of Understanding with the ARC in which we work collaboratively to develop services to meet the needs of the community in the context of stressful large scale events and to support the wellbeing of frontline workers and volunteers who are often exposed to confronting and traumatic events.

The field psychologist role is one that we helped to develop with the ARC in the years following the QLD floods of 2010–11. This role is undertaken by a psychologist who provides (pro bono) expert psychological skills and knowledge, in a non-clinical or counselling setting, to support the ARC workforce on deployment in the field. Field psychologists work within the ARC incident management structure, and are deployed to the field (e.g., evacuation centres, field operations hubs), to join teams of ARC emergency services people and provide expert support and guidance for their wellbeing while involved in ARC activities.

They monitor conditions that may impact wellbeing, making referrals and recommendations to effectively manage the wellbeing of the ARC workforce. As well as deployment into the field, psychologists may be required to undertake telephone wellbeing checks for ARC workers who may be experiencing distress or have been involved in stressful situations.

Recent DRN activities

In late 2019 the APS began to work more closely with the ARC as a result of the threat that was emerging due to the increasing risk of bushfires across the 2019–2020 summer. These concerns were realised across the Christmas period and across the New Year period the APS activated the DRN deploying psychologists to regional areas across NSW and Victoria including Bega, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, Sale, Bairnsdale and Mallacoota as well as to central ARC offices in Sydney and Melbourne where they provided support to staff receiving and making difficult calls with those impacted by the fires.

Members were, where possible, deployed alongside ARC workers on four-day rotations which allowed them to gain a good understanding of the experiences of these frontline workers and to be able to develop relationships with them and to provide support when needed.

As part of this article you can read the experiences of three of our psychologists who generously offered their time and were deployed to fire-ravaged regions. In the context of the bushfires the APS DRN supported other organisations such as the NSW Wildlife Council as well as holding a series of webinars and podcasts.

The DRN is activated in a range of traumatic situations for example, members recently provided wellbeing checks for the ARC personnel who had supported those present at the memorial and vigil for Hannah Clarke and her children.

Become part of the network

As a result of the recent 2019–2020 bushfires the APS received a large number of members seeking to contribute, including as part of the DRN. It was incredibly rewarding and inspiring to see how many of our members were willing to voluntarily give up their time to help those in need following the horrendous events and resulting devastation. We are aware that some members were disappointed that they could not have helped at the time and while we would have liked to have called on more members the APS had to be guided by the decision-makers on the ground, in particular, we had to work with the ARC and be part of a coordinated approach alongside other service providers which is critical in the context of a major disaster.

Members who are part of the DRN should have some training and experience in disaster recovery and/or trauma and will be required to have, at a minimum, completed the APS Certificate in Disaster Support. The Australian Government has agreed to fund APS psychologists who agree to be on the DRN to undertake the practice certificate. This means that there will be no cost to these members but in response these members will be expected to provide at least one disaster recovery service. More detail will be provided to members in the coming weeks.

Psychologists who volunteer for field psychologist roles need to carry professional indemnity and personal accident insurance when deployed with the ARC. Our seasoned DRN volunteers recommend calling your insurance provider to ensure your cover extends to out-of-office activities.

Further information about the DRN and resources for psychologists are on the APS website (bit.ly/2wvkmM2).

Notes from the field

Understanding our role in a crisis

When the Boxing Day tsunami occurred, the term ‘psychological first aid’ had not yet been coined and we knew far less about the risks of re-traumatising victims with dramatic and frequent retelling of their stories. Upon hearing the news in 2004, I was holidaying with my family in Lorne, and was surprised at the intensity of my urge to leave them there and fly to Thailand. To do what exactly, I didn’t know.

In the immediate aftermath of Black Saturday 2009, well-meaning residents from far-flung places got in their cars and drove up to the affected area. No coordination. No working with children or police checks. Most with no qualifications or training; just willing to serve coffees, listen, hug people and feel useful. Amazing. But this wasn’t without its challenges.

In 2017 I heard about the APS Disaster Response Network (DRN) and attended the training. The partnership between the Australian Red Cross (ARC) and the APS is outstanding in its professionalism, dedication and the functional logic of having field psychologists provide psychosocial support for the wellbeing of the ARC volunteers, and assistance where the ARC may be dealing with distressed members of the community. Eight hundred people came through our Bairnsdale Relief Centre in one day.

It is important as members of the DRN that we ‘know our place’. I know that is a provocative way to depict our role but how we are engaged, what we are there to do and the reporting structure are critical for us to respect. In the immediate aftermath of an extreme event which could be as diverse as the recent bushfires or a terrorist attack, the ARC will determine if they wish to activate the DRN and approach the APS with their needs, details of the number of personnel, and the location and likely duration of a deployment.

My previous activations include the Bourke Street tragedy anniversary, the Bunyip fires in March 2019, a recent bushfire deployment in East Gippsland and a day the following week at the ARC Victorian Emergency Centre making wellbeing calls to recently deployed ARC volunteers.

Challenges

There are a range of challenges in working as a DRN psychologist including:

• being personally accustomed to a high degree of autonomy, but ensuring we respect the chain of command
• having an acute sensitivity to the highly experienced and dedicated ARC volunteers who don’t want to be fussed over, nor have anyone imply or demonstrate they can’t do their jobs and need the ‘professionals’ to help them.
• responding to requests from family members to engage with loved ones who may not want to talk, especially to a psychologist
• finding privacy to sit with distressed individuals in a busy sports complex or church hall.

Hearing the stories of people who have lost loved ones, livelihoods, stock, pets, properties and particularly with those who were not insured and feel acute despair. The privilege to witness humanity at its finest and the possibility that something we do helps someone even in a small way is why I will continue to volunteer whenever I can.

Leanne Faraday-Brash MAPS

My deployment to Mallacoota

It was my first-time deployment to a bushfire-affected area as a member of the Disaster Response Network (DRN). I received excellent support from the APS (telephone conversations and briefing documents) and the Australian Red Cross (ARC). A preliminary conversation with an ARC staff member ascertained that it was a convenient time for me to be deployed, and that I had not been personally affected by the bushfires. I received briefing documents and attended a meeting with the deployed ARC volunteers on the first day, and received a post-deployment welfare phonecall).

The documents clarified my role, what to expect, some frequently asked questions and how to apply for reimbursement of costs. My role was primarily to support the ARC workers (both deployed and the local Mallacoota team), and it started with me driving one of the two ARC cars to the Sale RAAF base in Victoria. As the road into Mallacoota was not yet open, we were flown in a C27 Spartan.

I stayed in the same accommodation, wore the same ARC t-shirt, and shared dinner with the ARC workers each night. This made me feel a part of their team and I was certainly accepted by them. I participated in the ARC team daily briefings and debriefings and made sure I attended all the community meetings that were relevant so that I could hear first-hand about the current issues and hence what issues the community would bring to the Red Cross volunteers.

I also met with each deployed volunteer separately and had individual contact (either face-to-face or via the telephone) with local ARC volunteers. Given that my role was a transient one, it involved assessing each volunteer given their exposure, providing psychological first aid (PFA) and basic counselling interventions to address any issues, and referring them to existing psychological services for longer term needs.

Responding as a DRN psychologist is stimulating and challenging. As each disaster is different and the dynamics within each ARC team are different, it is important for any psychologist volunteering in this role to be flexible, to work as part of a team, to think strategically and recognise the consequences of decisions and actions, and to be respectful of the local community.

This experience reminded me why I have valued being a psychologist over many years of practice. This deployment experience provided me with the opportunity to witness first-hand the resilience of the Mallacoota community, the emergency service personnel, and the ARC volunteers, as well as to recognise the value of basic psychological skills such as PFA and the importance of organisational feedback to address strategic issues in an attempt to improve the response to the next disaster.

Heather Bancroft MAPS

Experience following NSW’s catastrophic bushfires

At the request of the APS, I was pleased to offer assistance to the Australian Red Cross (ARC), initially as a support to the media staff at the ARC Head Office in Sydney, and then with the team in the field at the Ulladulla Recovery Centre.

My observations were that some ARC media staff were coping with symptoms of burnout as a result of working up to 18 hours a day on tasks which was often highly stressful. They were subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism by the media as well as public abuse from disgruntled donors and survivors. Their frustration and stress was balanced by the passion and drive they had for their work. They felt energised to be doing something of significance. The level of energy and enthusiasm was palpable in the Head Office. Workers young and old were energised by doing something worthwhile for their country and community.

My role presented challenges in that my usefulness depended upon people’s capacity to come forward and talk. Care workers can have a reluctance to do this for a variety of reasons such as it can be seen as a sign of ‘weakness’, or they just want to get on with their work. Plus it can be difficult to talk about personal or work-related problems in the face of the human and animal suffering unleashed by the fires. Nevertheless, productive discussions were held to normalise and validate the workers’ experiences. At such a pivotal time in people’s lives, this ‘holding’ aspect of my role was critical. It was an adjunct to the impressive support and care the team members gave each other.

I went to the Ulladulla Recovery Centre in the recovery phase during January 2020. Many of the volunteers had been working long shifts for months in this region. The volunteers were on the frontline, witnessing this uncontrolled and terrifying fire-fuelled disaster unfold. They were there in the aftermath providing makeshift shelter and support until the Recovery Centre evolved. Their overriding mission was to serve the survivors. They coped because they had to and were often supporting partners who were volunteer ‘firies’. Facing such unprecedented trauma had brought this group of ARC staff closer together. Many of the staff were reluctant to talk about their feelings and reactions. Like the media staff, they were inhibited by not feeling ‘entitled’ to their own feelings and needs in the face of such immense suffering.

Group discussion was a helpful way of normalising staff emotional responses. The staff had been there for the survivors who had shared images etched into their minds of unspeakable things. Such encounters and images would be shared during private moments with me.

At the request of staff, I also worked directly with survivors they perceived to be at risk. Listening to these stories helped me understand the trauma experienced by survivors which ARC staff then witnessed.

As a field psychologist, I saw the ARC staff needed encouragement to overcome their inhibitions and discuss their experiences, disappointments and difficulties. Staff in the Recovery Centre also felt proud to be part of the ARC providing much needed assistance to fire victims. It was a privilege to work with them.

They showed that they could make people feel safe, and that they could be kind even when people made mistakes. They had to keep a cool head and they had to let people know they were entitled to their feelings. They had to recognise survivor guilt in others and themselves. They had heard so many terrifying stories and now they needed to be heard and validated.

Heath Townsend MAPS