Book helps victims deal with loss

FLOOD victims can be helped in their recovery by telling their stories, new research has found.

Journalist Amanda Gearing interviews flash flood survivor Frank King in Grantham. His story appears in her book The Torrent: Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley January 2011, which was part of her masters research at QUT. . Picture: Tony Phillips

FLOOD victims can be helped in their recovery by telling their stories, new research has found.

Toowoomba-based journalist Amanda Gearing studied victims of last year's devastating Lockyer Valley floods as part of a masters degree research program at QUT.

Mrs Gearing's research has shown people telling their stories of loss and survival to the media can help them recover.

She said she had interviewed 120 survivors of the flood that tore through the Lockyer Valley for her book The Torrent: Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley January 2011 which was released in January.

"We hear a lot about journalists doing insensitive 'death knocks' but this project showed that journalism has enormous power to help people come to terms with what has happened," she said.

"Some survivors who have undertaken several months of counselling found that reading the book was more beneficial to their recovery because they were able to understand what had happened to themselves and other people during the disaster and why.

"One thing that disempowers survivors is an imposed silence. Giving survivors a voice can empower them on their road to recovery."

Ten of the 30 most traumatised survivors interviewed about why they took part in the project said they participated to help with their personal recovery.

Another nine survivors said they participated because they wanted the public to know what had happened during the disaster.

"Telling stories of survival can have a positive effect on people, empower them, emphasise their strengths and pave the way for post-traumatic growth," she said.

"There is a public perception the media is very poor at dealing with bereaved people," she said.

"Reporter skills can be improved by having the reporters confront the complex issues surrounding life and death for themselves before they are asked to interview people who are traumatised or bereaved."

The Torrent: Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley January 2011 is available at bookstores and will be released as an e-book in April.

Originally published as Book helps victims deal with loss