'Instead of emphasising loss, death, destruction, I think journalists could have a great impact on increasing the resiliency and the coping mechanism of the people by telling stories of survival and things that goes right.'

Q: In your experience working with the Red Cross after disasters such as the Bam earthquake, how can survivors and victims be best supported psychologically? What really makes a difference?

Thoroddsen: It is different for different phases of the aftermath. In the beginning it is to provide the basic needs, food, shelter, etc., finding and identifying bodies, reuniting families. All basic stuff but of great importance for further building up coping skills and resilience. Most of those who survive a disaster are survivors not victims, not patients and should be treated like that. These are ordinary people who need support to cope with the reality they are facing. What these people need is to be activated as soon as possible. To mobilise them to take control of their lives and take an active role in the community. Community mobilisation implies a process of facilitating individuals, families, and communities to take action to address the problems of emergency situations. Active involvement, acceptance of responsibility and community mobilisation represent the antithesis of being a victim. The quicker the individual becomes involved and active after experiencing a traumatic event, the less impact this event will have on him or her and the quicker the individual, their family and their community will adapt and become resilient once again. Of course it is necessary to build up a referral system for those in need of a direct psychological or psychiatric support.

Q: How resilient have you found communities to be in circumstances such as these, and what helps reinforce that resilience? Can you give some personal/individual examples?

Thoroddsen: It depends on a lot of things. How badly the infrastructure is damaged? Is it a poor community with low educational level? What type of disaster it is? What kind of political situation is in the country etc. If you take Bam as an example there was no infrastructure left in the city and it meant total chaos in the beginning. The educational level in Iran is high and they have good disaster preparedness plans. So little by little they got hold of things. When a big disaster like the Bam earthquake strikes "the International aid system" reacts and sends their teams. There is always a possibility that the International teams drown the communities in aid and take too much control of the situation. That leads to victimisation of the community and its population. So instead of helping to self-help, the people get dependent on the foreign support. In Bam it was a little of every thing. For months the authorities had a very vague control of the foreign support and I found it left them helpless and in the end angry. But I learned that step by step they took control and organised the cooperation between partners.

Q: What is the most useful role for outside agencies such as the Red Cross at times like this?

Thoroddsen: To support the weakest link in the chain! Work with a very well defined part of what is needed to do in good cooperation with the authorities.

Q: What will mental health professionals need most urgently to bear in mind when supporting disaster response after the Indian Ocean Tsunami?

Thoroddsen: When providing psychological support, the most important thing in my opinion is to keep in mind that you are dealing with survivors not patients. Professionals tend to stick to the knitting as the Americans say and often become more professional, especially when they don´t know what to do! In these circumstances it is more important to be human and just keep your professional skills in the back of your head.

Q: To what extent are Western European models of crisis intervention appropriate in cultures as diverse and different as those around the Indian Ocean?

Thoroddsen: I'm not familiar with the cultures over there but cultural awareness is always needed. If I'm going to go there I'm going to try to get some idea of how the Buddhist and the other cultures in those countries deal with trauma, loss and grief. By that I´ll hope to be more prepared to give support. I think a lot of European models can help, but you surely have to adapt some of them.

Q: What in your experience are the important story angles on disasters like this which journalists currently fail to reflect adequately?

Thoroddsen: I often find the press too preoccupied with numbers, both how many have died and how much the damages cost. Of course these are important facts, but I have always been more interested in what effect the crisis has upon the people themselves. Instead of emphasising loss, death, destruction, I think journalists could have a great impact on increasing the resiliency and the coping mechanism of the people by telling stories of survival and things that goes right. Give people some hope by stories that show that you can survive. Journalists could also use the opportunities to educate people around the world about these countries, their culture and daily life there. Most of us don't know so much about it and I think for the inhabitants' self-esteem and pride, they would like the world to know that there is more to know, see and experience than this disaster and these parts of each country.

Q: What, as a mental health professional, has been your assessment so far of the quality of journalistic response to this story?

Thoroddsen: I guess that the answer to this question is more or less the same as for the one above. I don't think that we need to see the waves hit the shore thousand times or so. We don't need to see dead bodies of adults and children over and over again; we don't need to see the destruction over and over again. Few times are enough. What need to be covered more are the aid, the help, the support, and the construction. Something that gives us energy to carry on but not dragging us down for this heavy load that this disaster is.