Personal Transformation Process of Mental Health Relief Workers in Sichuan Earthquake

After Sichuan earthquake, a few dedicated teams of psychological volunteers have been committed to helping the survivors of the disaster for a long period. Their personal transformation experiences were absent in the literatures. The purpose of this qualitative research was to adopt a qualitative research to examine individuals’ lived experiences of personal transformation after long-term disaster mental health services. The study interviewed 10 psychological counselors, 3 psychiatric nurses, 4 psychiatrist, and 6 social workers. We built an explorative model to understand disaster relief workers personal transformation after long-term periods in disaster settings. The model proposes that existential learning is a key mediator factor from negative transformation to positive transformation. Cultivating the existential learning though training, caring and support involves a number of processes that includes acceptance, being authentic, and being mindful of here and now, which can transform their suffering to growth.