SPANISH FORT, Ala. — With so much attention focused on the environmental and economic impact the oil spill has had on area residents, local experts want to be certain the mental health toll the traumatic event has taken — especially on children — is not ignored.

The sixth installment of the University of South Alabama Baldwin Campus’ “Oil Disaster and Information Forums” series

 will address not only the immediate needs and skills required to cope with the spill’s impact on daily life but strategies for anticipating and responding to the environmental disaster’s long-term fallout.

“Particular features of the oil spill may present challenges to our mental health, and the mental health of our children and families,” said Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, one of two presenters during the Aug. 20 forum, “Maintaining Your and Your Children’s Mental Health in the Face of the Ongoing Oil Spill.”

The forum falls four months to the day after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana April 20, killing 11 workers and spawning an oil spill that has ravaged the Gulf Coast and its marine-dependent way of life.

Langhinrichsen-Rohling, a psychology professor at the University of South Alabama, will join clinical psychologist and professor Kati Arata, in addressing the sensitive topic by focusing on the power of resiliency.

Specifically, Langhinrichsen-Rohling will discuss the importance of combating helplessness by finding ways to be an active part of the solution. She will also address stress management and how to deal with both uncertainties and unexpected change.

The free forum begins at 6 p.m. in USABC’s Performance Center, but seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The center is located at the corner of Summit Street and Saint James Avenue in Fairhope.

The series, created to inform and empower residents struggling with the effects of the spill, has already addressed topics ranging from legal rights and air quality to real estate values and lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez spill two decades ago.