There is a paucity of literature on the personal experiences of burn support group members, the members' perceived benefits of group participation, and the meaning the survivors make of the support they receive. In order to provide effective psychosocial rehabilitation services and to meet the needs of burn survivors, it is important to understand the influence a support group has on its members as well as the personal experiences of those individuals who attend these groups. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of burn survivors in a burn survivor support group. Six self-identified burn survivors were interviewed by using a guided in-depth interview technique to explore their experiences in the support group. Key informant interviews and group observations served to triangulate the findings from the individual interviews. The experiences of the group members coalesced around four main themes: acceptance of self, perspective change, value of community, and reciprocity. The findings demonstrated the overall perceived positive impact the support group had on psychosocial recovery. For these members, the group aided the process of adjustment through the encouragement of adaptive coping strategies and the facilitation of community and relationships. Their experiences mirrored much of the literature on psychological growth from adversity. Burn survivors reported unique opportunities that allowed them to integrate their injury into their identity within an encouraging and safe environment. Using these accounts, the authors generated clinical suggestions that may encourage similar growth in other support group settings.

There is a growing recognition of the signi¢cant psychological and psychosocial damage caused by natural and manmade disasters.This phenomenon has increased the demand for trained professionals with the necessary skills to address these problems, in diverse populations around the world. The Masters of Arts International Disaster Psychology (MAIPD) programme in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology was developed in order to help to meet this increased demand for professionals, required to work in the ¢eld of disaster psychology and emergency management within the United States, and around the world. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007) are extensively utilised in this programme. The guidelines provide practical approaches for addressing psychosocial problems in (post)disaster settings, and provide a framework for developing plans and intervention strategies. This article examines the use of the IASC guidelines in an academic setting, and discusses a case example of how the IASC guidelines were utilised by MAIDP students working in Panama. This critical evaluation aims to provide practical information in order to assist faculty, students and practitioners preparing to work in (post)disaster settings.