UCSB Researcher Trains Red Cross

In traditional grief counseling, survivors and victims are "encouraged to revisit their trauma and experience all of the grief and anger they are feeling," explained Larry E. Beutler, professor of education and psychology at UC SB. "But new research has shown that these approaches rarely produce lasting benefits."

At the request of the president of the American Red Cross, Beutler is currently in Washington, D.C., training the organization's workers in how best to counsel families and survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Beutler, president-elect of the Society of Clinical Psychology, and Bruce Bongar, a colleague from Stanford University Medical School, will conduct training in the nation's capital through Wednesday, Oct. 24, using techniques they have researched and developed.

Beutler said his research illustrates the importance of education in dealing with shocking and horrifying events. Citing work by psychologist and firefighter Richard Gist and his colleagues, Beutler observed that there are distinct differences between approaches that seek to educate and those that seek to heal.

"For example, unlike conventional health and illness approaches, educational approaches to trauma do not assume that strong reactions to trauma are illnesses--they are normal reactions to unfamiliar situations that are perceived as leaving one in danger of injury or death," Beutler said.

Further, Beutler said that educational approaches seek to help people psychologically distance themselves from the trauma rather than to re-experience it and dissect it. They also help people learn new and effective ways for coping with the new situations rather than assuming that old ways will be sufficient, and emphasize personal strengths and extant support from family and friends rather than offering solutions from experts.

These latter approaches "encourage people to use and expand their own strengths and resources rather than becoming dependent on the health care system, while still offering to those who lack these assets, the wisdom and assistance of professional helpers," Beutler said.