In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, these ETSU faculty
jumped into action to support mental health providers and survivors.
Not long after Hurricane Helene swept through Northeast Tennessee – its floodwaters
leaving a trail of destruction in its wake – a group of community and faith leaders
gathered at a school in southern Washington County to offer support for residents
in one of the region’s hardest-hit areas.
They intended to provide a safe space for survivors to seek emotional support in the
aftermath of the storm. More than a dozen community officials, faith leaders, mental
health providers and support specialists were on hand to assist those who came that
night.
There was only one problem: only the helpers showed up.
“We had more than a dozen helpers there,” said organizer Dr. Jodi Polaha, director
of East Tennessee State University’s Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health in
the Quillen College of Medicine. “And that night, really, only the helpers showed
up, and so we were standing there thinking, ‘What do we do now?’”
Eventually, the group began talking amongst themselves, discussing their own experiences
and feelings.
“It was immediately apparent to all of us that the helpers needed help,” said Polaha.
Understanding the issue
Dr. Diana Morelen, an associate professor in ETSU’s Department of Psychology who was also on hand that night, said many of those there were struggling with fatigue,
sadness, and survivors’ guilt, and other struggles commonly seen in response to a
community disaster.
Morelen said some of those feelings could be attributed to something called secondary
traumatic stress. Secondary traumatic stress captures the physical and emotional struggles
and symptoms that can emerge when people see, hear or learn about the traumatic experiences
of others.
“As humans, we are hard-wired to form connections, and we truly neurobiologically
feel with others,” said Morelen. “And so, when you’re helping others, and you’re hearing
stories of loss and traumatic events, we soak that in – physically, mentally, emotionally
and spiritually.
“Many folks who aren’t trained in mental health care aren’t aware of that, and we
were seeing so much of our community, regardless of whether they were directly affected
or not, showing signs of secondary traumatic stress,” Morelen continued.
Those signs, Morelen said, include difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, and
more aches, pains and/or stomach troubles, to name a few.
At that first gathering, it became clear the faith leaders, non-profit leaders, and
other helpers in the room needed a moment to slow down and connect with others who
had also been working tirelessly to support the community in the aftermath of Helene.
“As leaders, we often tell others to take breaks but fail to do so ourselves,” said
Morelen. “This first gathering allowed us all to pause and reflect on how we can take
care of ourselves and model the importance of taking breaks in disaster work once
the original danger/threat subsides. This will be a marathon for our region, not a
sprint.”
Support for helpers – and survivors
Since Helene ripped through Western North Carolina and Northeast Tennessee in late
September 2024, those who leapt at the opportunity to help have been forced to balance
supporting survivors and showing up for their community with their own lives and struggles.
That’s where leaders across ETSU, the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center
and the community came together to think about how to support the spiritual and emotional
needs of the region.
In addition to organizing support for survivors – a critical need even months after
the storm – they’ve also worked to provide alternative ways for those struggling with
burnout or secondary traumatic stress to continue making an impact while taking care
of themselves.
“I think now, more than ever, as a community we need to give ourselves and each other
permission to be well and recognize that being well is not being selfish,” said Morelen.
Morelen, who previously authored a local newspaper column titled “How to Human,” launched
a similar effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on social media, providing tips,
evidence-based strategies and other helpful information to help others reduce burnout
and secondary traumatic stress.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Polaha said, the Institute for Integrated
Behavioral Health – which focuses on building behavioral health care into primary
care settings – jumped into action to provide education for health care providers
to manage patients dealing with the acute stress of such a traumatic event.
“It’s a lot of health care education efforts, which definitely feels like it’s in
our lane,” Polaha said. “We’re just helping our health care providers be more knowledgeable
and responsive and know when to leverage their in-house mental health providers.”
Polaha said providers are seeing people for issues related to mental health even if
the patients themselves don’t realize it, and because of their work to integrate behavioral
health services into many primary care offices in the region, health care providers
were better equipped to handle it.
“The body keeps the score, and if people don’t want to come in because of stress or
emotional trauma, they are willing to come in with physical ailments caused or exacerbated
by the impact stress has on your body,” said Polaha. “And that is where we’re seeing
huge opportunities.”
A multi-pronged approach
In the aftermath of a disaster like this, Polaha said, it’s important to have a multi-pronged
approach to reach those who need help. That includes meeting people where they are,
such as churches, schools and other places where they may feel more comfortable discussing
their experiences.
“When it comes to community trauma, we know it takes a village – no one system or
agency can do this alone,” said Morelen.
Morelen explained that in the early days of disaster response, that looked like more
boots on the ground approaches such as mental health ride-alongs to do welfare checks
with flood survivors. Now that the region has transitioned from disaster response
to recovery and rebuilding, there are systems being built to help coordinate efforts
across community agencies and institutions. In Washington County, some of those initiatives
are being hosted by the Washington County, TN,Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG).
“It has been humbling and eye-opening to watch the community come together to take
care of our neighbors,” says Morelen. “I’d like to express gratitude for the community
leaders who joined this effort even before knowing what we were asking of them – and
special shout outs to Dr. Myra Elder, Craig Switzer, Howard and Rebecca Alexander,
Bruce Treadway and pastor Jeremy Dykes."
Prepared to help
ETSU “helped prepare our helpers and our region to be resilient in the face of community
trauma,” said Morelen, pointing to the establishment of programs that have trained
numerous providers in the region in a variety of fields – ensuring Northeast Tennessee
had a community full of trained helpers ready to jump into action.
"This has been a true partnership between faith leaders, community leaders and ETSU.”
Morelen said. "Though there are more individuals and entities to name than space allows,
several noteworthy ETSU entities includes the Institute for Integrated Behavioral
Health, the ETSU/Ballad Health Strong BRAIN Institute, the Psychology, Counseling,
and Social Work Departments and the Center for Teaching Excellence, among others at
ETSU, that have stepped up to provide resources and support in the aftermath of Helene."
“It’s because of the intentional work folks at ETSU have been doing for decades to
help take care of our region that we were able to respond in such a robust way,” Morelen
added. “We have an incredible workforce and many brilliant, caring minds that are
well-positioned and well-coordinated to continue to support the community’s needs.”
Overall, Polaha said, they were proud of the work they and the community were able
to do.
“We’re proud of our mental health community and all the different stakeholders who
stepped up to help,” said Polaha.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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