Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Survivors of Terrorism

Terrorist attacks combine features of criminal assaults, disasters, and acts of war. Accordingly, much of our clinical knowledge in treating this relatively new kind of traumatic event is adapted from experiences in treating victims of criminal assault, homicidal bereavement, natural and man-made disasters, war and political violence, workplace homicide, and school shootings. This paper reviews the pertinent literature on these types of trauma and combines this information with the author’s own experience in treating direct and indirect victims and survivors of recent terrorist attacks. The paper describes the psychological syndromes resulting from terrorism and discusses individual and family modalities for treating victims and survivors of terrorism.