In this second decade of the 21st century we have seen unprecedented floods in Australia, South Africa, the Philippines, and Brazil; Japan suffering the effects of a major earthquake, tsunami and radiation; earthquakes in New Zealand, Chile and Turkey; and massive wildfires and widespread tornadoes in the USA. Also precipitating loss of life and widespread damage, the fires of unrest and protest that have erupted across the Middle East, from Yemen to Bahrain, to Egypt and Libya, hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets, voicing their opposition to long held regimes who have tried to quell the rising chorus, at times with violence.

In 2010 in particular, we saw devastation across the globe. From the beautiful mountainsides of Haiti, China and Turkey, to the coastal areas of Chile…natural disasters have left hundreds of thousands dead or injured and millions more displaced, many experiencing psychological "aftershocks." Equally devastating, armed conflict continues to disrupt lives, communities and countries - from the urban streets of Bangkok, to the mountains of rural Afghanistan, the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the suburbs of Baghdad.... many more hundreds of thousands are affected by humans fighting each other -- and suffer the consequences of violent conflict -- residents live in terror, flee their homes and their communities, lose livelihoods, loved ones and ways of life.

In the immediate aftermath of these kinds of events, focus is necessarily on rescue efforts, on the provision of food and water and temporary shelter, and the treatment of physical wounds. But the psychological impacts on survivors, and those related to them, are equally important. For some survivors, these psychosocial effects last long after the news cameras and international aid organizations move on.

We know from past disasters around the world that distress, anxiety, grief, even terror, are normal responses to such an abnormal event. We know too, that there is no universal response to this kind of trauma, and there is no universal “treatment.” We do know that in time, most people adapt and are able to build new normal lives. Some, however, do face long-term challenges.

To ensure that survivors have the best possible chance to adjust to the consequences of such disasters, past large-scale traumatic events provide key lessons about how to manage the psychological and social impacts: