From early response to post-response impact: a phenomenological study of counsellors' experiences following the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes.

Background

The twin earthquakes that struck Türkiye on 6 February 2023 (magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6) were among the most devastating in the nation's history, mobilising thousands of mental health professionals to address survivors' acute psychological needs alongside medical and humanitarian teams.

Objective

This phenomenological study aimed to explore the lived experiences of counsellors who provided psychosocial support during the early response phase (i.e. the first 40 days following the earthquakes).Method: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 counsellors (aged 30-49; 33.3% male) and analyzed using a phenomenologically informed thematic analysis.

Results

Five overarching themes and 17 subthemes were identified: (1) Moral and Professional Imperatives, reflecting ethical-humanitarian responsibility and professional commitment; (2) Multilevel Challenges, including physical hardship, emotional burden, role ambiguity, communication barriers, and organisational and coordination challenges; (3) Sustaining Professional Functioning under Crisis Conditions, involving collective coping, emotional regulation, adaptive practice, and task-focused engagement; (4) Post-Response Impact: Growth, Distress, and Moral Tension, encompassing delayed stress reactions alongside personal and professional growth; and (5) Systemic Lessons for Disaster Preparedness, highlighting the need for improved interinstitutional coordination and organisational structure, enhanced professional preparedness through psychological readiness and training, and strengthened resource and intervention capacity.

Conclusions

These findings contribute to the field of psychotraumatology by providing an in-depth understanding of how mental health professionals experience, make sense of, and cope with providing psychosocial support in large-scale disaster contexts. The study extends existing research by highlighting the coexistence of vulnerability and resilience, shaped by personal, professional, and systemic factors. The findings also have practical implications for early interventions, trauma-informed training, and coordinated disaster response systems.