IDMH: The Institute for Disaster Mental Health

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IDMH: The Institute for Disaster Mental Health

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"Helping in a Time of Crisis"

The Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH) seeks to address the diversity of disaster mental health demands in the region, state, nation, and the global community so that all those impacted by disaster and trauma have access to the mental health support they need. To accomplish this goal, IDMH provides leadership to advance the field of disaster mental health and trauma response through training, research, consultation, and service. IDMH works to establish and disseminate best practices in order to ensure that all disaster mental health services are evidence-supported and culturally sensitive.

10/27/2026

Thank you for joining us at the 21st Annual IDMH Conference on October 13 at SUNY New Paltz. It was wonderful to see so many professionals, researchers, and community partners come together to learn, connect, and share ideas. We hope you left the conference with new knowledge, practical insights, and valuable connections with others in your field.

As we start to think about future conferences, your feedback is incredibly important to us. IDMH offers this conference as a resource for those working in disaster mental health and related fields, and we rely on attendee input to help us improve and grow the event each year. The evaluation takes less than five minutes to complete, and your responses will inform the development of next year's conference.

We would be very grateful if you could take a few moments to share your feedback.

https://newpaltz.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cPhHhQ20zbNJsWy

10/04/2026

We are pleased to announce an important panel discussion at this year’s conference featuring Dr. Amy Nitza, Josh Garcia, Dr. Raffi Gregorian, and Dr. Amy O’Neill, LPC. Together, they bring extensive professional and lived experience in disaster mental health, mass violence response, trauma recovery, community healing, armed conflict, memorialization, and long-term recovery.

When communities experience mass violence, disaster, terrorism, or war, survivors and families must navigate grief, remembrance, and the difficult process of moving forward. Memorialization can play an important role in healing, but it can also involve complex and sometimes competing needs among victims’ families, survivors, responders, and the broader community.

Drawing from their work across mass shootings, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and armed conflict, the panelists will explore how lived experience can help guide memorialization and remembrance. Their discussion will focus on the importance of honoring those lost while creating processes that are sensitive to trauma, supportive of survivors, and responsive to the needs of affected communities.

The panel will highlight evidence-based practices including victim- and family-centered participation in memorial design, trauma-informed event design, and the structured preservation and archiving of spontaneous memorial items. Attendees will also learn strategies for inclusive engagement, reducing re-traumatization, and supporting both short- and long-term community recovery.

Don’t miss this meaningful session on how trauma-informed practice, lived experience, and thoughtful memorialization can help communities honor loss, preserve memory, and build pathways toward healing, connection, and resilience.

IDMH2026NewPaltz

[Three-slide graphic for the 21st Annual IDMH Conference at SUNY New Paltz featuring a panel discussion topic presented by Amy Nitza Ph.D., Raffi Gregorian, Ph.D., Heather Dearman, Amy O'Neill, LPC, and Josh Garcia.]

09/24/2026

We are pleased to announce that Brenda Liz Rivera-Morales, a Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor, educator, consultant, and Psychological First Aid trainer with the Institute for Disaster Mental Health in Puerto Rico, will present at this year’s conference! Rivera-Morales brings extensive professional experience in counseling, education, trauma recovery, community response, and disaster mental health, along with firsthand experience supporting communities across Puerto Rico following hurricanes, earthquakes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other crises.

Over the past year and a half, Rivera-Morales has trained diverse communities in Psychological First Aid, including churches, nonprofit organizations, community groups, schools, universities, and government agencies across both rural and urban settings. Her work emphasizes the importance of genuine presence, cultural humility, empathy, spirituality, community connection, and self-care when responding to people affected by disaster and trauma.

In her presentation, Rivera-Morales will explore how the IDMH Psychological First Aid model can be applied in culturally responsive ways across high-stress disaster environments. Drawing on real-world experiences in Puerto Rico, she will examine how the model’s six steps align with the principles of safety, calming, efficacy, connectedness, and hope, while highlighting the importance of adapting disaster mental health response to the cultural, geographic, and social context of the community being served.This session will explore how lived experience and evidence-based practice can work together to strengthen disaster mental health response.

Don’t miss this speaker session!

[Three-slide graphic for the 21st Annual IDMH Conference at SUNY New Paltz featuring Brenda Liz Rivera-Morales, a Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor, educator, consultant, and Psychological First Aid trainer in Puerto Rico.]

09/22/2026

Earn up to 5 FREE Continuing Education (CE) credits by attending this years conference. CE credits are available for New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs), Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSWs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), and Licensed Psychologists.

The 21st Annual IDMH Conference offers a dynamic program that bridges the latest research with real-world practice in disaster mental health, highlighting how evidence can inform effective preparedness, response, and long-term recovery.

Attendees will hear presentations from researchers and practitioners, alongside powerful perspectives grounded in lived experience, demonstrating how research, practical expertise, and survivor voices inform compassionate, effective disaster response.

https://www.newpaltz.edu/idmh/annual-idmh-conference/

This years conference is generously sponsored by:
New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

09/17/2026

We are pleased to announce that Jennifer Pearsall, founder of EM Wellness, emergency manager, and leadership facilitator, will present at this year’s conference! Pearsall brings more than a decade of emergency management experience and more than 13 years of experience designing and facilitating training programs across government, nonprofit, and education sectors. Her career spans FEMA, NYC Emergency Management, and the American Red Cross, where she has worked in both operational response and learning and development roles.

In her interactive workshop, Pearsall will draw on recent graduate research conducted through the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School. The session examines how workplace culture, organizational responses, and support systems may influence how people navigate major life disruptions in high-stress professions, with a focus on support, stigma, leadership response, peer dynamics, autonomy, and organizational culture.

Using a realistic workplace scenario, participants will engage in facilitated small-group discussions through different organizational lenses, including leadership, peers, workplace culture, organizational systems, and support resources. Together, groups will explore how workplace responses and conditions may influence connection, isolation, psychological safety, and long-term workforce sustainability.

Participants will also reflect on their own organizations, identify strengths and potential gaps, and consider practical next steps or future conversations they may want to explore within their teams or professional settings. Pearsall holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), and is a Master Trainer with the Association for Talent Development (ATD).

Don’t miss this important session!

[Three-slide graphic for the 21st Annual IDMH Conference at SUNY New Paltz featuring Jennifer Pearsall, founder of EM Wellness, emergency manager, and leadership facilitator.]

09/15/2026

📣 Calling All Poster Presenters!

Have research, a program evaluation, or other work related to disaster mental health? Share it at the 21st Annual IDMH Conference!

We’re inviting academic poster presentations that align with this year’s focus on “From Evidence to Action: Advancing Disaster Mental Health Practice”—with an emphasis on bridging research + practice.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026
SUNY New Paltz
Poster size: 48” × 36”, landscape orientation
Submit poster details: [email protected]

Students: A limited number of travel stipends are available for students traveling a considerable distance to attend!

Bring your work, share your knowledge, and help move disaster mental health from evidence to action.

09/10/2026

We are pleased to announce that Adam Gonzalez, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist, Full Professor, and Vice Chair of Behavioral Health in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, will present at this year’s conference!

Dr. Gonzalez is the Founding Director of the Stony Brook Mind-Body Clinical Research Center and Co-Director of the SBU Consortium Training Programs in Psychology. An expert in cognitive behavioral treatment, mindfulness-based interventions, behavioral medicine, stress management, and resilience, his research has been supported by more than $8 million in federal funding and has resulted in over 85 peer-reviewed publications.

His presentation will examine the mental health impact of first responder work, including increased risks for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other challenges associated with repeated exposure to traumatic and high-stress events.

Dr. Gonzalez will also provide an overview of the Disaster Worker Resilience Training (WRT) program, a four-hour interactive workshop designed to educate responders about traumatic stress, strengthen adaptive coping skills, and enhance resilience. Drawing from the program’s development, evaluation, and a newly funded multi-site National Institute of Mental Health clinical trial, he will explore how resilience training may protect mental health, support occupational functioning, and improve psychological preparedness.

Don’t miss this important session examining how evidence-based resilience training can better support firefighters, first responders, and others working in high-risk professions.

[Three-slide graphic for the 21st Annual IDMH Conference at SUNY New Paltz featuring Adam Gonzalez, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist, Professor and Vice Chair of Behavioral Health at Stony Brook University. The slides announce his session focused on first responder mental health, resilience, and the Disaster Worker Resilience Training (WRT) program.]

Address

1 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, NY
12561

Telephone

+18452573477

Website

http://www.newpaltz.edu/idmh

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