Survivors of natural disasters may be vulnerable to trauma and adjustment problems.  This vulnerability is caused by destruction of infrastructure, injury, and loss of lives, as well as the disruptions in daily interactions, relationships, and identities.  Thus there is a need for efficient, engaging, and evidence-based interventions in the communities affected.

In response to this need, a multiple step intervention using art and metaphor was developed for the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.  The steps in this intervention aimed to process trauma stories, build strength and resilience, address recurrent stressors, and ultimately aid in recovery.

In this symposium, the first presentation centered on the first step, which uses a metaphor of a movie and drawings of paused frames to help process individual experiences during the typhoon.  The next presentation showed the second step:  recognizing personal strengths and building resilience through a metaphor of a journey and drawings of a sailboat.  The third presentation showed the final step, using drawings of personal metaphors of their recurrent negative feelings to gain insight into their stressful experiences.  Finally, the fourth presentation showed the changes in Adjustment to Stress and Well-being among participants of the interventions.

Through this symposium, the presenters hoped to share their approach to each step, as well as the qualitative and quantitative results of their intervention.