counselling offered after major event i.e bombing?

crunchyblanket said:

UK-centric question: does anyone know if counselling is typically offered to survivors of a major event i.e a bomb on the London underground? If so, what type of counselling would be offered? And are group therapy/support sessions ever offered, or would these be something the survivors would typically organise themselves (if at all?) Any information on the subject would be greatly appreciated!

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Oh, shoot, I just noticed that said UK-centric and backspaced through my answer, sorry. Uhm, I'd guess, as it is in the U.S. by the Red Cross, if nothing else, and the Red Cross also exists there, as does the NHS? That's all I got. I know someone who did volunteer counselling after 9-11 in NY - they put out a call for psychologists who had experience in various aspects like grief, trauma, survivor issues, etc., they needed so many.

crunchyblanket said:

UK-centric question: does anyone know if counselling is typically offered to survivors of a major event i.e a bomb on the London underground? If so, what type of counselling would be offered? And are group therapy/support sessions ever offered, or would these be something the survivors would typically organise themselves (if at all?) Any information on the subject would be greatly appreciated!

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The NHS provide free counselling as a matter of course; you are asked if there has been any recent trauma, so I'd presume that then influences what treatment you're offered. Group vs individual is usually the choice of the patient.

I would imagine after a major event the survivors would be encouraged to go through the usual support routes rather than anything special being set up. That doesn't preclude them organising something for other survivors themselves, and I could believe that sort of group being set up.

Crunchyblanket. Yes, there is help available. I'm ex-Metpol, the police offer support in a surprisingly diverse number of incidents and operate through their partners such as the Victim support scheme. You may find these two links of interest:
http://content.met.police.uk/Site/victimadvice

https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/

I know when I was involved in an officer involved shooting I had to undergo counselling as part of PIP (Post Incident Procedure).

Hope this is of help.

I read in Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why by Amanda Ridley that the survivors of the 9/11 tragedy formed a support group.

Survivors might need help with PTSD. Though not everyone gets PTSD after a traumatic event, for many different reasons as variable as support, and genetics (specifically the size of your amigdala). Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood talks about that.