Maryland man helps caregivers cope in Sri Lanka

Published: 2005-01-13

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- As head of the psychological trauma team for the Maryland State Police, Dr. Michael Finegan helps troopers and rescuers deal with car wrecks, shootings and natural disasters. But even the worst of those events pales in comparison to Finegan's current assignment as a volunteer with Catholic Relief Services in Galle, Sri Lanka. He is there to help community leaders, medical personnel and relief workers cope with the massive loss of life and property following the tsunamis that struck Sri Lanka and 11 other Asian and African countries Dec. 26. Finegan, 49, is a parishioner at St. Francis de Sales Church in Salisbury, Md., in the Wilmington Diocese. He also helps train local religious and community leaders in "the essence of psychological first aid," as he calls it, to help them overcome survivor's guilt and other emotional issues as they begin to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. Finegan, a clinical psychologist, said he volunteered to help since he was familiar with that part of Asia; he had worked on three occasions in India in the 1980s with Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta's Missionaries of Charity. He was physically able to handle the climate and conditions.

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