Mental Health in Burn Survivors

While the experience of burn injury is associated with intense psychological reactions that will usually vanish over time, burn survivors have a higher rate of premorbid mental health problems, and a higher lifetime risk of mental health disorders. They need personalized mental health care from the moment they are admitted to the burn unit until their reintegration into the community. This chapter aims to identify the common psychological and psychiatric issues faced by burn survivors and to discuss the specialized mental health interventions and the systematic, stepped care, and biopsychosocial approaches to which all members of an interdisciplinary team should commit to facilitate the recovery and rehabilitation of burn survivors.