The World Trade Center Attack: Helping the helpers: the role of critical incident stress management

Healthcare and prehospital workers involved in disaster response are susceptible to a variety of stress-related psychological and physical sequelae. Critical incident stress management, of which critical incident stress debriefing is a component, can mitigate the response to these stressors. Critical incident stress debriefing is a peer-driven, therapist-guided, structured, group intervention designed to accelerate the recovery of personnel. The attack on the World Trade Center, and the impact it may have on rescue, prehospital, and healthcare workers, should urge us to incorporate critical incident stress management into disaster management plans.