Societies, institutes, and members were still submitting reports of their activities in response to the trauma of September 11 at the time the last issue of TAP went to press. Here is an updated report on those endeavors.
Under the leadership of Steve Marans, the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (NCCEV) at the Yale Child Study Center deployed a number of coordinated responses. In Washington, Marans met with the Assistant Surgeon General to discuss responses to the mental health needs of children and families. He also met with Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and other members of the Democratic Caucus and their families regarding the implications of terrorism on children and adults.
Marans and David Berkowitz have consulted with the departments of Defense, Education, and Justice and with a number of U.S. senators. NCCEV materials were widely disseminated to these departments and members of Congress. Marans was the keynote speaker at the Department of Education's eighth annual regional conference on October 17 and spoke on “Trauma and Response to September 11.”
Marans has been consulting with the New York City Chancellor's Office and Board of Education, the Children's Mental Health Alliance, and city-based departments of child psychiatry and child mental health services in coordinating clinical services for New York City children. Marans and the NCCEV team, led by David Schonfeld, will provide training across the New York City school system in school-based crisis response and mental health coordination.
NCCEV's redesigned Web site went live the week of September 11 at nccev.org. The site offers information for parents and caregivers of children about how best to respond to the attacks, as well as general information on the impact of violence and trauma on children. The group's media outreach was tremendous. Marans appeared on PBS's “Bill Moyers Show” speaking on “Children and the Tragedy.” In the same week, Marans and colleagues participated in an interview with CNN.com, ABCNews.com, and USA Today.
Photo by Jacques Gourguection
NCCEV has been working to develop a public service announcement with Deborah Smolover, director of the U.S. Department of Justice's Children Exposed to Violence Initiative in the Office of Victims of Crime.
In the wake of September 11, Jeff Taxman, a senior candidate at the Milwaukee Society, went to New York City and helped in the relief effort there. Taxman discussed his experiences at a session held during the recent APsaA Fall Meeting.
The Minnesota Society held several discussions for members about their reactions to the attacks. In October, members met to discuss the psychology of suicide bombers. The discussion was facilitated by Nancy Kobrin, an academic associate of the APsaA.
Both individual members of the Tampa Society and the Carter Jenkins Center made available low-fee or pro bono treatment for people directly affected by loss of loved ones in the World Trade Center attacks. Through online postings, the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (BPSI) asked for volunteers and listed resources, such as the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, that were mobilizing mental health teams to go to New York City. BPSI sent a contingent to Logan Airport to work at the request of United Airlines with some of its employees.
BPSI held an open meeting of its members to discuss their feelings and what actions could be taken. BPSI polled its members for volunteer time, areas of expertise, and contacts with schools and agencies, coordinating the effort with its outreach arm, the Boston Psychoanalytic Alliance.
Many faculty members of the Columbia Psychoanalytic Center volunteered for grief counseling and other acute interventions. They also met with faculty of Columbia University's Department of Psychiatry to organize and coordinate interventions for adults and children in need. Others disseminated information through the media and public information
Dottie Jeffries is the APsaA's public relations consultant. She has worked with the association since 1998; her projects for APsaA institutes include public relations and marketing in English and Spanish for the Chicago Institute.
meetings. The center organized a conference in November on children and trauma.
The South Asian Psychoanalytic Forum of the Psychoanalytic Association of New York and the NYU Psychoanalytic Institute at NYU Medical Center developed a lecture series that began in October, “Terror and Aftermath: Perspectives on the World Trade Center Tragedy.”
The New York Disaster Counseling Coalition (NYDCC) was awarded a grant by the New York Times Company Foundation enabling the coalition to hire an administrator and establish the NYDCC as a not-for-profit corporation. All NYDCC therapists are volunteers. At last report, fifty people had sought services from the NYDCC. The group now has a home in the Fisk Building at 250 West 57th Street.
NYDCC's efforts have been enhanced through the services of TraumaResponse.org, an umbrella online consortium that evolved after the attack to provide those seeking mental health services with a centralized, comprehensive practitioner database of individuals and groups who offer care.
“Having TraumaResponse.org there to fill our databasing needs has been a godsend,” said NYDCC chair Janet Bachant — for example, when looking for volunteers who speak Spanish and can administer couples therapy in the Bronx. Bachant has been working closely with another NYDCC founder, APsaA member Arnold Richards.
Several members of the San Diego Society and Institute initiated their own responses. Keith Canner gave a number of presentations to parents and children in school groups on psychological issues related to development, fear, helping kids to cope, and the like. Candidate Ricky Hall provided consultation and training on trauma issues through the local Red Cross. The society sponsored a public forum on “The Psychological Impact of Terrorism,” which was organized and moderated by Robert Tyson.
Sandra Leong of the Psychoanalytic Association of New York, in response to September 11, has organized a series of “Psychoanalysts and Writers” symposia. The first one, “The Apocalyptic Imagination: Daydreaming in an Era of Nightmares,” was held Saturday, February 23.
“At a time when many are still feeling the numbing effects of trauma, it is important to remember that the creative imagination is something that enriches our lives, is a reservoir of meaning, and is a source of knowledge of ourselves and of the world around us. By engaging the work of these exemplary writers, we hope to restore our own creative energies and abilities, while gaining a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between trauma, creativity and mastery,” says Leong.