ABSTRACT

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011 leaving more than 400,000 people, including 100,000 children, homeless. These displaced children lived in temporary housing and ‘temporarily’ attended schools, which provided them with professional mental health support after the disaster. This paper highlights the role of disaster mental health support teams from Miyagi Prefecture through a problem reported by one of the schools – the excessive feeding of fish by children who narrowly escaped the tsunami. The support team helped schoolteachers understand the perspective of survivor guilt by facilitating a group discussion among the children and exploring their feelings about the disaster, with a focus on the guilt of leaving their pets behind. The authors demonstrate the role of mental health professionals working with schools to help children resolve negative thoughts and feelings during disaster recovery, including the often-overlooked survivor guilt caused by life-threatening events.

摘要

2011 年 3 月 11 日，东日本大地震和海啸袭击了日本，造成超过 400,000 人无家可归，其中包括 100,000 名儿童。这些流离失所的儿童住在临时住房中，并“临时”上学，这为他们在灾后提供了专业的心理健康支持。本文通过其中一所学校报告的问题——勉强躲过海啸的儿童过度喂食鱼，强调了宫城县灾难心理健康支持团队的作用。支持团队通过促进孩子们之间的小组讨论并探讨他们对灾难的感受，帮助学校教师了解幸存者内疚的观点，重点关注将宠物抛在后面的内疚感。