College of Arts & Sciences Disaster Mental Health Institute

Educational Material

Below are titles and tables of content for the various informative booklets that DMHI can provide at cost. Booklets can be ordered by emailing us at dmhi@usd.edu. 

The following booklets are short (2 to 4 page) informative synopses designed to help individuals understand and cope with their reactions to various types of disasters.

Useful handouts below are available in PDF format.  These handouts may be reproduced without charge if they are reproduced completely intact and distributed without any charge or fee of any kind.
Children and Disaster

Children and Disaster: A School Counselor's Handbook on How to Help
by J. Chris Nordgren, Ph.D. and Nicole Englund, M.A.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Four Modalities of Functioning 
  3. Common Reactions to Disaster 
  4. Developmentally Related Variance in Children's Reactions 
  5. Reactions Warranting Referral 
  6. Factors Affecting Children's Reactions to Disaster 
  7. Caretaker Difficulty Recognizing Children's Distress 
  8. What Helps Children Cope with Disaster
 Helping Children Cope

Helping Children Cope With a Traumatic Event
by Deborah DeWolfe, Ph.D. (offered with permission)

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. How might children react?
  3. Do children of all ages react the same way?
  4. What can I do to help a child? 
  5. Questions commonly asked by parents and caregivers 
  6. When to seek professional help
 All About Floods

Mni Hiyaye Oyasin (All About Floods)

This is a coloring book designed specifically to inform Lakota children about floods. Both Lakota and English wordings are used. (This booklet is currently out of print. Individual copies will be produced at a cost of $8.00, including shipping and handling.)