Dr. Neil B. Redlener of the Mailman Psychological Counseling Center returned last week from a trip to Harrison County, Miss., where he counseled survivors of Hurricane Katrina. "The main goal of my trip was to help set up a psychiatric infrastructure," Redlener said of the week he spent working with Operation Assist, an emergency response program run by the New York-based Children's Health Fund (CHF).

With a team of volunteer doctors, nurses and mental health professionals, Redlener treated those in need of immediate counseling.

Redlener said the majority of patients the team treated suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

"Some members of Operation Assist had exposure to similar PTSD when working with victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks," he said, adding that other professionals lacked such substantial experience treating disaster survivors.

"I did a lot of work on mobile units operated by Operation Assist, but I also walked the streets treating various people who I came into contact with," including volunteers, residents and workers, he said.

Though he specializes in adolescent psychiatry, Redlener said he counseled a diverse set of patients of all ages.

"[One patient] constantly blamed herself for not heeding these warnings [to evacuate her home] and moving her family to safety," he said.

He also treated many elementary and secondary school-age students.

"Many public school teachers had trouble counseling their students because about 85 percent of the teachers lost everything" and were traumatized themselves, Redlener said.

Redlener's brother, Dr. Irwin Redlener, co-founded CHF in 1987 and is the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

CHF provides "comprehensive health care to the nation's most medically undeserved children," according to the organization's Web site.

Taking time off from work to volunteer was not a problem, Redlener said. "The president of the University said any faculty or staff could take time off without penalty to assist in the relief effort."

Redlener said he plans to return to the affected Gulf Coast regions and hopes others will join him.

"There are many opportunities to volunteer," he said.