School community in disaster: Planning for intervention

Psychologists' intervention in school disasters, as well as in community disasters affecting a school population, entails a major departure from their traditional role. This article presents a preliminary model for disaster intervention in schools, reconceptualized from the preventive model (Caplan, 1964) underlying community mental health intervention and modified to meet the specific needs of the school organization in disaster. The implementation of the model's principles is outlined, and the implications for communitybased intervention are discussed.