August 22, 2011
Blurb
Grieving After 9/11
Published: August 21, 2011
To the Editor:
Re “10 Years and a Diagnosis Later, 9/11 Demons Haunt Thousands” (front page, Aug. 10), about post-traumatic stress disorder and the 2010 Zadroga Act providing funds to treat it:
Your article does not mention complicated grief, a condition that affects about 7 percent of all bereaved people (according to a new study), with rates two to four times higher among 9/11 victims. Its symptoms — persistent, intense longing and sadness; preoccupation with thoughts and images of the dead; avoidance of reminders of the loss; and difficulty finding meaning in life without the lost loved one — resemble both depression and P.T.S.D.
We have successfully treated 9/11 victims using a 16-session approach that focuses on coming to terms with the loss and restoring a meaningful life. Without accurate diagnosis, treatment can be ineffective and lengthy.
The public needs to know how to recognize complicated grief. Mental health professionals need to know how to recognize and treat this debilitating problem. To understand why victims of 9/11 still struggle, we need to consider the possible role of complicated grief.
M. KATHERINE SHEAR
NANCY TURRET
New York, Aug. 13, 2011
The writers are, respectively, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University School of Social Work and a social worker at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Read the letter on the NY Times website at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/opinion/grieving-after-911.html?emc=tn...
Published: August 21, 2011
To the Editor:
Re “10 Years and a Diagnosis Later, 9/11 Demons Haunt Thousands” (front page, Aug. 10), about post-traumatic stress disorder and the 2010 Zadroga Act providing funds to treat it:
Your article does not mention complicated grief, a condition that affects about 7 percent of all bereaved people (according to a new study), with rates two to four times higher among 9/11 victims. Its symptoms — persistent, intense longing and sadness; preoccupation with thoughts and images of the dead; avoidance of reminders of the loss; and difficulty finding meaning in life without the lost loved one — resemble both depression and P.T.S.D.
We have successfully treated 9/11 victims using a 16-session approach that focuses on coming to terms with the loss and restoring a meaningful life. Without accurate diagnosis, treatment can be ineffective and lengthy.
The public needs to know how to recognize complicated grief. Mental health professionals need to know how to recognize and treat this debilitating problem. To understand why victims of 9/11 still struggle, we need to consider the possible role of complicated grief.
M. KATHERINE SHEAR
NANCY TURRET
New York, Aug. 13, 2011
The writers are, respectively, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University School of Social Work and a social worker at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Read the letter on the NY Times website at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/opinion/grieving-after-911.html?emc=tn...