1 - (SYM 6) All Hands on Deck: Expanding the Workforce to Include Non-mental Health Professionals to Support Post-disaster Youth Mental Health

Objectives: Limited availability of mental health professionals trained in disaster response can leave youth and families with inadequate support following disasters (WHO, 2025). Training non–mental health professionals in evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral disaster mental health approaches may expand the accessibility of post-disaster supports, particularly in communities disproportionately affected by disasters (Caulfield et al., 2019; Smith et al., 2022). This study evaluated knowledge and preparedness among mental health and non-mental health professionals who received cognitive-behavioral youth disaster mental health trainings delivered by the SAMHSA-funded NEW DAY program.

Methods: Participants included n=332 mental health professionals and n=271 non–mental health professionals who participated in disaster mental health trainings delivered by NEW DAY. Descriptive statistics, standardized mean differences, and independent-samples t-tests assessed familiarity with disaster impacts on youth mental health and perceived skills, and resources to support youth/caregivers following disaster, among mental health and non-mental health professionals from pre-to-post training. Secondary analyses examined group differences in perceived confidence and intended skill use, and compared overall training ratings.

Results: Following disaster mental health trainings, both mental health and non-mental health professionals reported increased familiarity with disaster effects on youth mental health and greater feelings of being equipped to support youth and caregivers. No significant differences were found in training outcomes between mental health and non-mental health professionals for (1) familiarity with the effects of disasters on youth mental health, t(516.65) = -0.211, p = 0.833; (2) perceived skills/resources to help youth post-disaster, t(542.45) = -1.053, p = 0.293; and (3) perceived skills/resources to help caregivers post-disaster, t(542.27) = -1.01, p = 0.313. Both groups overwhelmingly rated the training highly overall.

Conclusions: Findings suggest disaster mental health trainings can effectively build comparable knowledge and skills among non-mental health professionals, supporting their role in expanding broad access to post-disaster mental health supports for youth and families.