For Better or for Worse: How Initial Support Provision Adapted to Needs

Everyone is affected by an incident like the Christchurch Feb 22 quake - the impact on community, families, individuals and businesses is vast and for all involved unprecedented in scope and impact. Some directly suffer severe loss, such as death of loved ones or destruction of personal property. Others experience secondary trauma, the vicarious affects from knowing someone who is affected - a colleague, family member, neighbour, even the stranger who we never knew before they told us their story of loss over a coffee, a quiet word in the supermarket, or at a shop that has barely re-opened. Ongoing uncertainty and unpredictability affects all, along with new found strength and resilience that many never knew they had. For the vast majority, the effects linger whereby the destruction becomes disruption - life and its routines and structures continually change and people have no option but to adapt in unplanned and unknown directions. Psychologists are not immune to such effects: we too have to adapt. Two Christchurch-based psychologists speak about their experiences providing community support, observations of the community impact, and their vulnerabilities whilst trying to work with earthquake victims when their own homes, businesses, and communities are also affected. They acknowledge that resilience to such events is linked to an awareness of our frailty, the importance of self-management, and the dilemma of helping those who need our help when we ourselves are also receiving support in various ways.