Reflections on 9/11: Vulnerability and strength in the “new world order”

One year after the tragedy and horror of the events of September 11, 2001, many still struggle to understand their meaning and long‐term impact. This article provides a brief overview of critical stress debriefings and describes the author's work offering disaster mental health services to survivors of the World Trade Center attacks in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 disaster. The essay considers gaps in mental health services and the toll that such relief work can take on mental health responders. Implications for healing are considered in the context of the government's crackdown on civil liberties and its plans for war with Iraq.