Emergency Preparedness

NASW-Oklahoma Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team


Overview

NASW-Oklahoma is developing an organized team of behavioral health providers to respond to the mental health needs of Oklahoma residents following disasters (e.g., bioterrorism, man-made or natural disasters). The regional disaster behavioral health response teams (BHRT) can be deployed, physically or virtually anywhere in the state. The team will respond to disasters or critical incidents when local behavioral health resources have been depleted or are overwhelmed. The goal of the disaster behavioral health response team is to provide an organized response to individual victims, family members, survivors, or the community affected by critical incidents or disasters.

Team Composition

The team will include individuals with experience in human services, psychology, mental health, substance abuse, social work, psychiatry, education or spirituality. Behavioral Health Response Team members have completed specialized training provided by NASW-Oklahoma. Team members operate under the supervision of NASW-Oklahoma's Disaster Behavioral Health Coordinator, receive ongoing training and participate in community/statewide drills and exercises as needed to meet the needs of Oklahomans.

Activation

The team will be placed on alert status following federal or state emergency and activates by the NASW-Oklahoma's Disaster Behavioral Health Coordinator. This team shall be available during Federal or State Emergencies. If an emergency is not declared, local municipalities or emergency response systems may request assistance in order to meet the behavioral health needs of communities in local crises by contacting the NASW-Oklahoma's Disaster Behavioral Health Coordinator at director.naswok@socialworkers.org

For additional information about the role the team can play in assisting your community, please contact the NASW-Oklahoma's Disaster Behavioral Health Coordinator.