Children's survivor guilt after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami: a case report

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011 leaving more than 400,000 people, including 100,000 children, homeless. These displaced children lived in temporary housing and 'temporarily' attended schools, which provided them with professional mental health support after the disaster. This paper highlights the role of disaster mental health support teams from Miyagi Prefecture through a problem reported by one of the schools - the excessive feeding of fish by children who narrowly escaped the tsunami. The support team helped schoolteachers understand the perspective of survivor guilt by facilitating a group discussion among the children and exploring their feelings about the disaster, with a focus on the guilt of leaving their pets behind. The authors demonstrate the role of mental health professionals working with schools to help children resolve negative thoughts and feelings during disaster recovery, including the often-overlooked survivor guilt caused by life-threatening events.