"If you have seen one disaster, you have seen one" - How do we create universal mental health solutions in a diverse...

This article summarizes a panel presented at the inaugural PreAct (Preparedness and Acute Intervention for Mass Trauma) Conference, held in New York City on June 5-6, 2025. PreAct is an international initiative developed to strengthen mental health preparedness and response to mass trauma, emerging from reflections on two major disasters: the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. Despite their different geopolitical and cultural contexts, both events revealed similar vulnerabilities in disaster mental health systems. The panel, entitled "If You Have Seen One Disaster, You Have Seen One - How Do We Create Universal Mental Health Solutions in a Diverse World?", explored how universal principles of disaster behavioral health can be adapted across diverse settings and populations. April Naturale presented core response principles developed in the United States following September 11, based on her leadership in large-scale disaster responses. Shlomo Mendlovic described the rapid organizational and clinical adaptations implemented at Shalvata Mental Health Center in Israel following the October 7 attacks. David Serfaty contributed a transcultural perspective grounded in clinical work with Eritrean and Sudanese migrants at Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, highlighting the impact of cumulative and repeated trauma. Drawing on these complementary perspectives, this article examines key challenges and strategies in disaster mental health preparedness, acute intervention, and long-term recovery. It emphasizes the importance of flexible, culturally informed, and system-level approaches that balance universal principles with local realities. The paper aims to contribute to the development of sustainable and adaptable mental health responses to mass trauma in an interconnected world.