In Their Words: Secondary Traumatic Stress in Social Workers Responding to the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in New York City (Commentary‪)‬

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, traumatized the nation and produced serious mental health issues for many residents of New York City. Social workers and others in the mental health community in the city rallied to help those in need. However, the impact of their exposure to others' pain and suffering and consequent secondary traumatic stress (STS) must be realized. As a researcher and consultant, I have had since 2003 the opportunity to interview close to 50 social workers involved in the 9/11 recovery effort and provide training in managing 9/11 STS for more than 150 more. The levels of STS encountered were alarming and exacerbated by the lack of supervision and support available to the social workers during the majority of their 9/11-related work. Working with clients who had 9/11-related issues was complex. It is important to keep in mind the unique nature of this attack. The social workers had been exposed to the same disaster as their clients. For many, hearing the clients' stories interacted with the clinicians' own stress levels and concerns about the terrorist attacks, heightening the resultant STS reaction beyond the simple additive effects of the two factors taken alone (Pulido, 2005). Such factors make it important to study STS among 9/11 social workers.