To mark the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, APA released a statement today in honor of the thousands of men and woman who perished and the first responders who put their own lives on the line.
“We salute the first responders in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania who bravely put themselves into harm’s way to rescue as many people as they could. We think of the efforts of psychiatrists and mental health clinicians in those regions, who from the very beginning treated many who suffered from trauma, from substance use disorders, and from other mental illness as a result of this tragedy. We remember the service members who deployed across the world in the resulting wars and the families they had to leave behind,” the APA statement read.
In the years since these attacks, there has been an enormous body of research on the effects of 9/11 on mental illness and substance use. In the September issue of Psychiatric News, psychiatrists reflect on how the attacks elevated disaster psychiatry and altered the way that psychiatrists understand psychological and behavioral responses to disasters.
“As we continue to face the aftermath of that day, whether in the form of quiet remembrances or the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan, we urge everyone impacted to know that in times of tragedy and distress, we, as psychiatrists, are here to support you, and mental health help is available,” APA wrote.