TOP Research Sections Research Section for the Development of Nursing Care Strategies : Mental Health C.D.P. INTRODUCTION Disasters such as earthquakes and floods leave deep scars in people's minds.Many disaster victims suffer from physical and mental disorders. To promote recovery from such stress reactions, it is extremely importantto provide mental health care immediately after the disaster.Therefore, nurses who are involved in support activities from the early phaseof the disaster are expected to play a significant role in providing not onlyphysical care but also psychological and emotional support for victims.This page presents handbook for mental health care in disasters. We have produced this handbook to provide relevant and practical informationfor frontline nurses who work to help disaster victims taking at the shelter centers, including those with no psychiatric clinical experiences.The handbook consists of three volumes: "What you can do at the shelter," "When you face difficulties at shelters" and "Maintaining nurse's mental health." "What you can do at the shelter" describes mental health services that nurses can provide to promote the healing of scars of disaster victims. "When you face difficulties at shelters" gives tips on how to support/handle disaster victims who have suffered serious psychological damage and those who are unwillingto accept assistance from nurses. "Maintaining nurse's mental health" provides information regarding stress reactions or symptoms that nurses may experience in their support activities and tips on stress management. We hope this page serve as a mental health care guide for nurses who are involved in providing post-disaster support services. Research Section for the Development of Nursing Care Strategies Mental Health Care Development Project 13-71 Kitaojicho Akashi, Hyogo 673-8588 JAPAN The 21st Century Center of Excellence Program Office TEL: +81-78-925-9610 FAX: +81-78-925-0872 E-mail: office@coe-cnas.jp Project leader: Noriko Chikazawa Collaborative researcher: Atsuko Tamaki, Natsuko Harada, Nozomi Aoyama, Azusa Kamachi Knowledge for pre-disaster/ preparedness phase Knowledge for emergency phase Knowledge for recovery/restoration phase Elderly Children Pregnant women / Child-rearing mothers Cancer patients Patients with chronic disease Mental health care Research Sections   Elderly C.D.P.   Child health C.D.P.   Maternal health C.D.P.   Cancer Nursing C.D.P.   Chronic Diseases C.D.P.   Mental Health C.D.P.   The Education / Training Program D.P.   The Nursing Management Method Development Project   The International Disaster Nursing Network Project   The Professional Nursing Support Network Project   The Participatory Community Support Network Project   Research Section for Specification of Research Field   Research Section for Information Base Development   Special Research Projects   Outline of The 21st Century COE Program     Streaming videos on “Disaster Nursing” now available.