Treating the Terror in Terrorism

MENTAL HEALTH

If America were attacked by weapons of mass destruction, would any
number of bandages heal our psychological wounds? Dickson Diamond, Ph.D.,
thinks not.

In a series of mock terrorist attacks performed earlier this year,
the U.S. government tested top local, state and federal officials on
their ability to respond to biological, chemical and radioactive agents.
Many officials were pleased with the results, but Diamond, the Federal
Bureau of Investigations' chief psychiatrist, worried that the attacks
did not represent the emotional trauma of terrorism. "At the hospital,"
he reported after the mock attack, "a large number of physicians [were]
standing by to help out, [but] none of the psychiatrists were notified to
be part of the exercise."

This alarming oversight vexes experts who anticipate that
approximately 80% of casualties are psychological, including paranoia,
vicarious psychiatric trauma and mass panic, while only 20% result from
direct physical contact with the weapon.

Diamond urged attendees at the recent American Psychiatric
Association's annual meeting to express concern about America's
incapacity to handle the mental scarring that weapons of mass destruction
can cause, and he travels nationwide to educate psychologists about the
need for their participation in any attacks. "If mental health
professionals don't understand the threat, they can't be of help," he
explains.

ILLUSTRATION (COLOR)

Adapted by Ph.D.