School Psychologists Needed to
Serve as American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health (DMH) ProfessionalsÂ
The
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has worked with the
American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and the American Red Cross to
allow eligibility of state-licensed or state-certified school psychologists and
school counselors as Disaster Mental Health (DMH) professionals in the
aftermath of natural and man-made disasters.
Following
information is for NASP members interested in becoming DMH volunteers. Please
note that volunteers must sign up through their local Red Cross chapter and
will likely be required to complete Red Cross-specific training in
psychological first aid and disaster mental health regardless of their
professional crisis response training.
Download a brochure here.
Volunteering
in Your Local Community
To find the Red Cross
chapter closest to you, please go to the Chapter Locater website at www.redcross.org.
Local volunteers may be called upon to provide mental health support to
volunteers going on national disaster assignments or to Red Cross chapter
workers and volunteers who may be experiencing increased stress due to the
pressures of coordinating the response to national disaster relief operations
while still responding to the ongoing needs of their local community. Please be
aware that mental health volunteers may be expected to complete Red
Cross-specific training in psychological first aid and disaster mental health
to prepare them for their volunteer roles and to ensure the safety and welfare
of Red Cross clients and volunteers as well as those from partnering agencies.
Volunteering
Outside Your Local Community
If you are interested and
available for a national deployment for 10 days to 3 weeks, please contact your
local Red Cross chapter. To find the Red Cross chapter closest to you, please
go to the Chapter Locater website at www.redcross.org.
Please be aware that prior to a national deployment, mental health volunteers
must be registered as Red Cross volunteers and will be required to complete Red
Cross-specific mental health training in psychological first aid and disaster
mental health to prepare them for their volunteer roles and to ensure the
safety and welfare of Red Cross clients and volunteers as well as those from
partnering agencies. Be prepared for
there to be a waiting period before Red Cross training is available and before
you can deploy out of state. Any help you can provide to your
local community and Red Cross chapter during this waiting period will be of
great help. (In special circumstances, you may be notified of alternative
training arrangements).
Basic Information About
How to Become a DMH Volunteer
http://www.redcrossnca.org/Volunteer/how_to_volunteer.php3 includes information on the new volunteer orientation. Once that is completed, you
will have the option to indicate interest in Disaster Services, complete a
background check, and sign up for the
basic DAT responder courses. To find out when
those courses are offered, they can a) go to this web page http://www.redcrossnca.org/Online/disaster_registration.php or b) sign up for the courses being offered at our
Mini Training
Institute on
September 27-28. Additional documents regarding courses required to become Red
Cross DMHS are available here.
If you have additional
questions or need more information, please contact your local Red Cross chapter
directly.
*DMH Eligibility
Criteria
- Independently-licensed,
master’s level (or higher) mental health professionals
- State-licensed or
state-certified school counselors and school psychologists
- Licensed psychiatric RNs or
RNs with at least two years experience working with direct client service
in a behavioral health setting