Trauma risk for tsunami survivors

The suffering caused by the tsunami could last for years

Up to nine in 10 survivors of December's Indian Ocean tsunami are likely to suffer from psychological trauma, experts have warned.

A Bangkok conference on treating tsunami survivors was told the mental health damage could last years.

"Recovery cannot take place unless we remain aware of the emotional effects and the mental health consequences," psychiatrist Jonathan Davidson said.

The likely death toll from the disaster is now more than 250,000.

Many thousands more have been left bereaved or homeless.

"We can expect that between 50% and 90% of the population will experience symptoms such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression," said Mr Davidson, director of the anxiety and traumatic stress programme at Duke University in the United States.

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He said that this estimate was based on data from previous major natural disasters.

While he admitted that the need to address general health issues and reconstruction were also of vital importance, Mr Davidson said that survivors could not recover properly unless they were given appropriate mental health care.

The task is expected to take years, with many survivors experiencing persisting psychological symptoms.

"But we must believe that recovery can be achieved and that resilience of the human spirit can reassert itself," he said.

Cultural differences

The Bangkok conference is looking at ways to treat psychological trauma which are suitable for the tsunami-hit regions of India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand.

Alexander McFarlane, head of the psychiatry department at the University of Adelaide in Australia, said that any form of post-traumatic care must take local cultural differences into account.

"Often there are very different beliefs within communities about the nature of human suffering. If you don't deliver your health care in a way that matches those beliefs, the offered assistance will not be taken up," he told the Associated Press news agency.

In Thailand, where the conference is taking place, more than 5,300 people are confirmed to have died from the disaster, and tens of thousands more left bereaved and homeless.

Without the necessary help... the long-term effects could be as devastating as the tsunami itself Somchai Chakrabhand, head of the Mental Health Department

According to the Thai Health Ministry, 10,000 people have already been treated by teams of mental health workers touring affected areas.

Counselling has also been carried out by Buddhist monks trained in psychology.

Somchai Chakrabhand, head of the Mental Health Department, said that about 30% of people in tsunami-hit areas showed signs of moderate post-traumatic stress disorder, such as being unable to sleep or look at the sea.

Another 20% were "very significantly affected", he added - displaying symptoms such as an obsession with waiting for the return of their loved ones.

A bar hostess in Phuket, whose boyfriend died in the tsunami, is said to have committed suicide because of her grief, Mr Somchai added.

"Without the necessary help to deal with this mental trauma and the issues surrounding the mental health fallout of the disaster, the long-term effects could be as devastating as the tsunami itself... a second tsunami," he told the French news agency AFP.