EMDR with trauma survivors in Mexico:  In the aftermath of Hurricane Paulina with the Mexican Association for crisis therapy in Acapulco

Hurricane Paulina ravaged Acapulco, Mexico, in October of 1997. Two weeks of torrential rains, floods and landslides followed. At least 2500 people died. In one poor neighbourhood on the banks of what had been an almost dry riverbed, 400 people were buried alive before they could escape or be rescued. Despite acts of incredible heroism which occurred during the hurricane and floods and in the following days, the initial rescue efforts were hampered by the lack of infrastructure for emergencies of such scale. The firemen worked alongside volunteers for 15 days taking only 'cat naps' in their trucks. They received no psychological debriefing from the horrors they witnessed until three months later, when Dr. Ignacio Jarero and I (as members of the Mexican Association for Crisis Therapy core team met to debrief with them. Some of the most stalwart rescuers with whom we spoke still had recurring images of partial corpses of children stuck in trees and bodies of pregnant women floating along the main streets of old Acapulco.

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English

Judith Boel

Boel, J. (1997). EMDR with trauma survivors in Mexico: In the aftermath of Hurricane Paulina with the Mexican Association for crisis therapy in Acapulco. EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs