B.U. Bridge is published by the Boston University Office of University Relations.

Contact Us

Staff

MED faculty provided first wave of counseling after terrorist attacks

By David J. Craig

Within hours of the September 11 terrorist attacks, an American Red Cross relief center set up at Logan Airport's Hilton Hotel was flooded with families and friends of the victims. Some were seeking confirmation of an individual's presence on one of the ill-fated flights, some wanted detailed information about what had occurred on the planes, and many needed to talk to someone about their grief and confusion.

	Kermit Crawford, a MED research assistant professor of psychiatry, directed a team of BU mental health professionals that provided counseling in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Photo by Vernon Doucette

Fortunately, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health had recently organized a special team of mental health professionals to provide counseling in the aftermath of major tragedies. The Metro Boston Emergency Mental Health Response Team, including four BU faculty and staff members led by Kermit Crawford, a MED research assistant professor of psychiatry, had been preparing to provide grief counseling to large numbers of people. The clinicians, from BU's Urban Institute in Psychiatry and Psychology and Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology, both of which Crawford directs, spent the next several days observing and talking with bereaved people at the airport and at several Boston hotels, in conjunction with the Red Cross.

"This situation was much more stressful that any other grief counseling work I've ever done, not only because there were such large numbers of people affected, but also because people were affected in very different and subtle ways," says Shani Dowd, a MED clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and a psychotherapist for 30 years. "Often people didn't look distraught as much as stunned. So it was hard to know who had lost loved ones."

Counselors observed people carefully, therefore, and tried to strike up casual conversations with those who seemed as though they might want to talk. Sometimes the counselors talked to entire families for up to an hour, while other people needed just a few moments. "Many people didn't look emotional on the outside, but after talking for 10 minutes or so, a lot of deep feelings would come out," says Dowd. "Nearly everyone I spoke to in that situation was profoundly affected in some way, and that included members of the support crews and other counselors."

At the end of each shift, she says, counselors talked at length to one another about the impact the work was having on them personally.
Among those most deeply affected by the attacks, says Crawford, who each day oversaw about 25 of the Emergency Mental Health Response Team counselors, were airline pilots and flight attendants, many of whom had worked with crew members on the hijacked planes. "There were graphic debriefings by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI beginning that Tuesday afternoon, and people were told details such as that some flight attendants' throats had been cut, so there were obviously a lot of feelings of anger, violation, and fear, especially among the other flight attendants," he says. "When we spoke with them, we tried to make them feel that they could express themselves unconditionally. We then would find out from them how we could help them, whether it was getting them a cup of soda or referring them to other professional help."

Crawford has been a psychologist for 22 years. "There is no consolation in a situation like that," he says, "but we wanted to at least help people become grounded, and to maybe feel a bit of solace."

Dowd says that even several weeks after the tragedy it is natural for some people still to fear flying or to feel anxiety related to news of terrorist activity. "When government officials urge people to fly again and to return to normal life," she says, "people have to remember that everyone has a different time frame for recovering from an event like this."

The BU clinicians who are part of the Emergency Mental Health Reponse Team had been doing grief counseling for the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for several months. Mari Bennasar, a MED psychologist, and Jean Chin, a MED assistant professor of psychiatry, also are members of the team. In addition, seven BU student interns in the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology provided counseling.
Currently, the center and the Urban Institute in Psychiatry and Psychology are training additional BU faculty as well as clinicians at other institutions to provide grief counseling with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Metro Boston Emergency Mental Health Response Team is providing free counseling and referral services for those troubled by the September 11 attacks until November 16. For more information, call 617-414-4646. BU faculty or staff who seek counseling can call the Faculty/Staff Assistance Office at 353-5381; students can call the Counseling Center at 353-3540.

19 October 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations