Providing "Brief Education and Support" for emergency response workers: an alternative to debriefing

The staff of the Pentagon Family Assistance Center was closely exposed to the intense grief experienced by those who had suddenly lost their loved ones following the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In addition, some Pentagon Family Assistance Center workers were in the Pentagon when it was attacked, and others lost friends or colleagues in the event. A "Brief Education and Support" group intervention, designed to avoid the detailed exploration of traumatic experiences, was used to help workers recognize and understand their reactions to the event, and, as appropriate, to normalize those reactions. A second aim was to support positive coping and warn against problematic coping. The groups were characterized by much sharing of emotional and behavioral reactions to the work and to the Pentagon crash, and they were useful in prompting reflection on ways of coping. They appeared to offer one acceptable and effective way of educating emergency workers about their traumatic stress reactions, normalizing those reactions, and promoting adaptive coping.