Bermuda needs to take a more coordinated approach to trauma counselling in preparation for a major disaster hitting the Island, experts have claimed.

Two of Bermuda's leading Critical Stress Management (CISM) team members, Doris DeCosta and Mira Ingemann, said Bermuda's mental health resources would be woefully inadequate should the Island ever experience a horrific air crash or tidal wave.

They said September 11 resulted in thousands of rescue workers and family members needing trauma counselling and this highlighted Bermuda's lack of experienced manpower.

"If something major happened in Bermuda, we would be in trouble," said Ms Ingemann, the Police's Welfare Officer.

"Something needs to be done now before it is too late. People always think after the fact, but how many more examples do we need before Bermuda gets a clue as to what it needs to do.

"Mental health is the key in getting people to bounce back. We are a preventative agent - our role is to save lives and families, but all of the mental health agents need to come together."

Ms Ingemann and Ms DeCosta were among a team of five Bermudians who travelled to Manhattan to provide their skills and experience to Police and firefighters who had been affected by the attack on the Twin Towers. Some were actually at the World Trade Center when the towers collapsed, and others were drafted in soon after to assist with the recovery and rescue mission.

Ms DeCosta, who is the CISM coordinator at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, said New York had counsellors for every kind of need and profession, but still needed to call on other states, and countries, to provide additional help, as the list of those needing attention grew.

Bermuda has only two organised counselling groups on the Island, one at the hospital and one in the Police.

She said there may be more trained people out there but she did not know because it was not co-ordinated.

"When we went to New York City, we were so impressed with their services, but still it was not enough," added Ms DeCosta.

"Bermuda is not co-ordinated or ready for any kind of disaster, let alone something of this magnitude. We need to really start thinking seriously about the need for more co-ordinated mental health services. In a major situation, it would not take long before the people we do have are burned out."

She said CISM, which is a worldwide organisation, should be brought in to provide stress counselling training to more people on the Island, and said a register should be set up of those people who are already trained, with their contact numbers, should they be needed.

The counsellor said a committee consisting of the various different agencies, such as Police, Fire Service, Hospital, Regiment, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Schools and mental health groups, could also be launched with the aim of drawing up a national policy and tracking the training of counsellors.

Ms DeCosta said she had provided much training in the Caribbean and found those countries had adapted the CISM approach to suit their own needs.

She said they had drawn up their own organisation entitled Stress Management and Disaster, which was solely aimed at suiting island needs.

She suggested Bermuda do something similar.

Ms DeCosta said: "It's not that we are fragmented at the moment. It's just that we simply don't have enough people.

"We (DeCosta and Ingemann) are not even mandated to deal with the community. I am based at the hospital and Mira is at the Police. If a disaster struck, it's important to get people functioning again as soon as possible. This is not a game, we are about saving people's lives."

Anyone involved in mental health counselling who would like to do more on the Island should get in touch with Bermuda Counsellors' Association (BCA), of which Ms Ingemann is the chairman, on 291-5582 or through its website at www.bermudacounsellors.bm.