The day was beautiful, without a cloud in the sky. Bymid-afternoon, however, the sky had darkened and forecasters talkedabout the possibility of late afternoon and evening thunderstorms.The weather continued to deteriorate throughout the balance of theday and by evening, the threat of severe weather was present.

At 9:20 p.m., a severe thunderstorm was in the area and atornado warning was issued. An F4 tornado formed and touched groundat 9:36 p.m. and directly hit the first town in its path. Thedevastation was complete: more than 75 homes were either completelydestroyed or severely damaged; stores and businesses weredecimated; and the school sustained severe damage that rendered ituseless as a place of shelter. The local hospital, while stillfunctional, was operating on a generator, its staff overtaxed bythe number of injured. The death toll was already at 32 andexpected to rise. Three of the four places of worship in thiscommunity were severely damaged, their structural stabilityquestionable.

Within hours of this catastrophe, claim and recoveryprofessionals began to arrive to begin the rebuilding process.Their challenge was to safely function in the presence ofoverwhelming tragedy for an extended period of time while workingwith highly distressed individuals in dangerous conditions.

Traumatic Environment

Our world is full of events that create crises for individualsand communities. Natural events such as hurricanes, tornadoes,floods, and wildfires take human life, destroy property, anddisrupt the sense of normalcy in our lives. In addition, events ofintentional human design are now part of our lives. The event maynot be highly publicized and may take a more individual face suchas an auto accident, illness, or injury. Regardless of cause, whenthese events occur, it becomes the responsibility of insurance andrecovery professionals to assist in rebuilding lives, communities,and industry. Often, professionals are required to work for weeksand months with highly distressed people, in environments that areoften dangerous.

What happens to those exposed to the stress of catastrophe? Theimpact of the event itself will produce powerful negative stress,as will the stress encountered in the catastrophe's aftermath whileattempting to rebuild shattered lives. This stress is calledtraumatic stress. It refers to the emotional, cognitive,behavioral, and physiological experience of those individuals whoare exposed to or witness events that overwhelm their coping orproblem-solving abilities. The events, referred to as “traumaticincidents,” are typically unexpected and uncontrollable. Theycompromise our sense of safety and security and leave us feelinginsecure and vulnerable.

Policyholders who have experienced a traumatic event are subjectto a host of traumatic-stress reactions. Claim and recoveryprofessionals who must work with distressed individuals, as well asperform their jobs in dangerous environments for prolonged periodsof time, also are vulnerable to the effects of traumaticstress.

What to Expect

What reactions are typically exhibited during traumaticexposure? The following responses are considered normal in thepresence of a traumatic incident. They may occur immediately, ormay manifest in the days, weeks, or months following a traumaticevent.

• Emotional responses may include a highly anxious, activeresponse or possibly a seemingly stunned, emotionally-numbresponse. Additionally, there may be fear, anger, hostility,uncertainty, and grief about the loss.
• Cognitive responses may include loss of focus andconcentration, disorientation, confusion, and difficulty in makingdecisions and forgetfulness.
• Behavioral responses may include pacing, withdrawal, reluctanceto abandon property as well as antisocial behavior.
• Physiological responses may include rapid heart beat, elevatedblood pressure, difficulty in breathing, and chest pain. Takeimmediate action by contacting emergency care if these symptomsappear.

Being able to recognize and manage traumatic stress in thepolicyholder will assist claim and recovery professionals whileworking with distressed individuals. This understanding willimprove the claim process by helping to build a trusting andsupportive relationship.

The stress encountered by claim and recovery staffs whileworking with distressed individuals in difficult environments canbe overwhelming. For that same reason, the same reactions mentionedabove for the policyholder may appear in staff members, as well asthe following effects:

• Fear of danger and concern for personal injury.
• Increase in error level and productivity as loss ofconcentration and focus are affected.
• Increase in illness from fatigue and poor working conditions,which can lead to an increase in sick leave.
• Visual or auditory distortions that result in poorcommunication and inaccurate assessment of claim issues.

These reactions may occur immediately or may manifest in adelayed manner over days, weeks, or months. It is also important torealize that the stress encountered in the claim and recoveryprocess is coupled with the normal stressors that staff membersencounter in their lives beyond the job. This cumulative effect maypresent serious stress-related issues.

Caring for the Crew

Protecting the staff should be the primary mission of everyorganization. Every effort should be made to ensure the staffremains safe and healthy while working in dangerous environmentswith highly distressed people. The mission of management should be:Keep them safe, and send them home safe. In addition, the followingguidelines should be established during incident engagement:

• Assess how your staff is doing, not what it is doing. Showconcern for their well-being.
• Provide support as needed by tuning into their needs.
• Send them in prepared. Orient staff to location, GPS, maps,hazards and unique problems that they may encounter.
• Provide realistic expectations for their assignments.
• Create a safe zone, a place to allow them to briefly get awayfrom the devastation lessening the imprints of horror.
• Limit staff exposure to negative sights.
• Set up briefing sessions to allow staff to meet and discusstheir experiences.
• Provide updated information.

We live in a volatile, often unstable world that will presenttraumatic events from a variety of causes. During these times, itis the combined efforts of emergency responders and claim andrecovery professionals to protect and rebuild shattered lives andcommunities.

Understanding the impact of traumatic stress on the policyholderwill assist staff in developing a trusting relationship, thusimproving the rebuilding process. Additionally, staff will beprepared to safely handle the stress encountered while working withdistressed individuals in prolonged negative environments.

Dr. Raymond Shelton is the director of professionaldevelopment for the American Academy of Experts in TraumaticStress. He provides training and consultation to the claim andrecovery industries in the management of traumatic stress. He maybe reached at 516-681-3976, [email protected].