Treatment with children and adolescents traumatized by the September 11th attack

Abstract

In the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, a myriad of complicated issues faced us all. Among these issues were how to provide support and ease anxiety during a time when taking in what had occurred was painful for us all, and everyone felt uncertain about the future. In this article, we describe how some New York City children and adolescents in close proximity to the devastation experienced the day and managed in the aftermath. We offer two case examples as characteristic reactions and describe the fine balance of getting to the material while respecting the defenses of our young clients. These school-based sessions offer insight into the unique parameters of school-based work, and the flexibilities and limitations available in this setting. We describe treatment grounded in psychodynamic theory and in the adolescent case, the implementation of some cognitive techniques. Both cases illustrate that the effects of prior trauma play significant element in the experience of present day trauma.