By Jenel Hunt
Long after a fire has swept through or a flood has subsided or the hailstones of a vicious weather event have melted, there is a human cost to be counted.
But how can you count – quantify – the human and social side of difficult times?
The psychological residue that such an event causes, that can’t be exactly measured but is nevertheless very real, has been the focus of work by renowned disaster psychology expert Dr Rob Gordon for more than 30 years. His vast understanding of the trauma experienced by people affected by emergencies and disasters will be made available to all residents in the Southern Downs at the Stanthorpe Civic Centre Supper Room on Monday, 20 March at 5.30pm.
This event, organised jointly by the Southern Downs Regional Council and the Red Cross, is for all members of the community, not only those who are feeling the after-effects of drought, flood, fire or storms.
Community Recovery and Resilience Officer James Wong at the Southern Downs Regional Council has organised the visit.
“Dr Gordon looks like someone’s grandpa but he is very much respected in the sector. He is a clinical psychologist who has been working in the field of disaster recovery since Ash Wednesday 1983. He was there after the Bali bombings, the Christchurch earthquake, the Black Saturday bushfires,” he said.
James said the talk was free for all residents within the entire council area and was not limited to those who had been affected first hand.
“You might come to hear Dr Gordon because you have a friend or neighbour who is finding it hard to cope. This is also about the hidden anxiety around the thought of drought returning or the possibility of another bushfire. We’re coming up to the anniversary of last year’s floods and we’ve recently had a bushfire at Pratten. The Granite Belt had a storm last month where a lot of growers had their crops affected.
“We try to have the attitude that ‘she’ll be right’ but there’s an underlying anxiety from these kinds of events.”
Dr Gordon’s first-hand experiences have helped many people over the years and his presence in Stanthorpe will be a powerful way for people in the audience to understand their trauma and grief and find a healthy way to respond to their concerns.
