The victims of Nate Storm, who are now in shelters, will receive psychological care provided by teams of specialists from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) and the Ministry of Health.
The Technical Advisory Committee on Psychosocial Support of the Ministry made an assessment on Saturday, to give specific technical recommendations for prioritizing needs, according to risk factors and protectors of mental health and psychosocial support.
This Committee is made up of the CCSS, the National Emergency Commission (CNE), the Psychosocial Care Brigade of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the Ministry of Public Education (MEP), the National Children’s Patronage (PANI), the National Council of People with Disabilities (CONAPDIS), the College of Psychologists and Social Workers, the Public Force, Caritas and the Red Cross.
The idea is to provide competent agents with technical recommendations to help provide immediate relief from emotional distress and prevent the reactions to the event to get more serious.
Psychologists of the CCSS recommended those affected to not hold in their emotions at this time.
Storm Nate left 11 people dead and two missing, resulting in the loss of family, friends, partners and, of course, substantial material losses.
The first recommendation is to talk and give yourself a space to thank for life. It is also imperative to give yourself the opportunity to express the anguish, anxiety and pain of losing people and things..
Not all people experience the circumstances the same way, so it is very important to be respectful to those affected, not to criticize or judge and understand that each person in the family mourns differently.