09/14/01. Lessons from New York, Dennis Alne

Dear Listmates:
Although I now live in New Jersey I still continue my private practice in Brooklyn. These last few days have been a horror for all, and will require a new therapeutic mindset by psychologists. Why is this the case? This represents the first time that the continental United States has been attacked. We are now in a state of war. This generation of psychologists has been fortunate in not having to confront the degrees of emotional problems that result from the trauma, the heightened sense of vulnerability, etc. For myself I worked for years as the crisis response psychologists in the Brooklyn High Schools. Basically this meant that I would go into a school following a murder or a tragic incident. While the problems I faced were great they were the tip of the iceberg to what I am already seeing now. One example is a 60 year old woman I have been treating for awhile. She has suffered from a low grade depression with generalized anxiety for much of her life. On that day of horror she was at work two blocks from the WTC. When the first plane hit her building was evacuated. She followed people to the nearest bridge, BUT HAD the WORST PANIC ATTACK of my LIFE. She was frozen by fear and couldn't step onto the bridge. She turned around and walked back to her job as she saw the first TOWER collapse. Eventually she ran into a friend who gave her a ride out of the city "BUT I PANICKED ALL THE WAY to BROOKLYN." When I saw her the next day she told me she had been awake all night and frightened as never before. This is one story. There are millions of others. The point is that over the coming months and possibly years psychologists are going to be confronted by a magnitude of emotional problems that they have not dealt with before.

The Implications for Psychology

Pschologists must rise to the challenge of providing the needed services as they did during World War 2. Psychologists must be prepared to increase their degree of training in dealing with trauma and with much more serious anxiety and depressive disorders. Psychologists must be prepared to deal with all aspects of a persons mental health needs. Yes, this means knowing which medications may be indicated in periods of severe agitation or depression. We can no longer afford to restrict our practices to only part of the whole person.

Dennis J. Alne Ph.D, FPPR

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