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Ninety-two percent of tsunami survivors interviewed in Sri Lanka expressed feelings of guilt for surviving and for not doing enough to save their families, according to research conducted by Anie Kalayjian, Ed.D., a professor of psychology at Fordham and a trauma-therapy specialist. Kalayjian, whose work is chronicled on her website, www.meaningfulworld.com, led a group of psychologists and counselors to Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, in February to provide aid.
“There was a tremendous amount of sadness, hopelessness and guilt, more than I’ve seen in any other disaster,” said Kalayjian, who has also led teams to Armenia and Turkey after those countries were devastated by earthquakes. “The team provided empathy and validation to survivors and reinforced that they did everything they could under the circumstances.”
The Mental Health Outreach Project (MHOP), which is part of the Association for Disaster and Mass Trauma Studies, was spearheaded by Kalayjian, who organized several teams of volunteers to provide ongoing psychological counseling and training to thousands of tsunami victims. The most recent team of volunteers left for Sri Lanka on March 8.
While in Sri Lanka, Kalayjian’s team encountered victims who suffered from flashbacks, avoidance behaviors and nightmares. Many victims of the “giant monster,” as many called it, blame the 20 years of conflict between Tamil and Sinhalese races, ethnic strife and civil war for causing the tsunami.
“The lesson for them was to unite and appreciate one another,” she said. “Since the tsunami did not discriminate Tamil over Sinhalese in death, they wanted to learn how to collaborate and unite in life.”
Kalayjian’s hope is that psychological counseling will provide survivors with the hope they will need to rebuild their lives. Untreated depression could increase suicide rates and prevent communities from rebuilding.
Judith Kuriansky, Ph.D., an adjunct professor at Columbia University who conducted counseling and research alongside Kalayjian, said, “most of the people are impressively resilient, showing how strong they are in coping with such extreme unimaginable loss.”
Even so, the team taught the victims various exercises to help them cope. They led daily therapy sessions, art therapy for children and desensitization groups for those fearing the sea. They also taught victims how and why tsunamis are formed.
“Empowering people with this knowledge gave them a feeling of having more control over their lives,” said Nicole Moore, a team member who received a master’s degree in counseling at Fordham. “This information helped alleviate some of the survivor’s guilt because they realized that they had no control over what happened and that they did everything they could to save people.”
Other members of the MHOP included Christina Hoven, Ph.D., and Donald Mendall, Ph.D., professors at Columbia University, Hishara Godanka from the University of Texas; and Lousine Shamamian, a documentarian.
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