The group of papers presented in this volume represents ten years of involvement of a group of eight core therapists, working originally with approximately forty families who suffered the loss of husbands and fathers on September 11, 2001. The project focuses on the families of women who were pregnant and widowed in the disaster, or of women who were widowed with an infant born in the previous year. This book maps the support and services provided without cost to the families by the primary prevention project – the 'September 11, 2001 Mothers, Infants and Young Children Project' – organised by a highly trained group of therapists specialising in adult, child, mother-infant and family treatment, as well as in nonverbal communication. The demands of the crisis led these therapists to expand on their psychoanalytic training, fostering new approaches to meeting the needs of these families. They sought out these families, offering support groups for mothers and their infants and young children in the mothers’ own neighbourhoods. They also brought the families to mother-child videotaped play sessions at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University, followed by video feedback and consultation sessions. In 2011, marking the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy, the Project continues to provide services without cost for these mothers who lost their husbands, for their infants who are now approximately ten years old, and for the siblings of these children. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy.

In this book, Christine Pisera Naman, whose son Trevor was born on September 11, 2001, has gathered together striking black-and-white photos of her child and forty-nine other babies who share the same birthday. Gathered from each of the fifty states in the union, these shining faces give hope to our nation as its citizens reflect on the anniversary of September 11. With simple eloquence, the author shares two wishes that she has for each little one, such as: I hope that you find good in all people. I hope you catch snowflakes on your tongue. I hope you always have more than you need and share your plenty. I hope you are someone's dream come true.

This book presents dance/movement therapy as a window into the emotional and internal experience of a baby with a medical illness, within the context of treating the whole family system and using the DC 0-5 as the basis for formulating the clinical situation. This book fills a gap in the literature, bringing a variety of fields together including infant mental health, infant and child psychiatry, nonverbal-movement analysis, and the creative arts therapies. Grounded in a biopsychosocial perspective, dance/movement therapy is introduced as the main treatment modality, using nonverbal expression as a means of communication, and dance and music activities as intervention tools, to support the child and family. Vignettes from both during and years after the medical experience are presented throughout the book, taking into consideration the subtle and more obvious effects of illness on the child’s later emotional, social, and behavioral development. They illustrate the expertise of the authors as infant mental health professionals, drawing upon their work in hospitals and private practices, and highlight their unique perspectives and years of collaboration. This exciting new book is essential reading for clinicians and mental health professionals working with infants and their families.

InHealing after Parent Loss in Childhood and Adolescence: Therapeutic Interventions and Theoretical Considerations, experts explore the varied, often complex, and always tragic circumstances under which young people face losing a parent. Profound grief and feelings of powerlessness may accompany loss of a parent at any age, but distinctly so when such loss is experienced during formative years. Whenever these individuals seek help, therapists must be psychically prepared to enter into arenas of trauma, bereavement, and mourning. The children, teens, and adults presented are diverse in age, culture/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. A diverse group of contributors showcase a wide range of effective approaches—from traditionally structured short- and long-term psychotherapies and psychoanalysis, to psycho-educational, supportive, and preventive interventions. The writers in this volume do not shy away from tough matters such as urban violence, AIDS, and war; they address concerns practicing clinicians face, such as when to work with children, adolescents, and adults individually, and when and how to involve their surviving parents and families. Included in this book are issues related to the self-care and professional development needs of therapists who take on this difficult but essential work, including peer support and supervision. This volume is likely to spark important re-examinations across all fields of mental health practice. It will equip and empower clinicians of all kinds who undertake work with those who are grieving. Healing after Parent Loss in Childhood and Adolescence promises to be a vital and stimulating read for supervisors, teachers, and trainers of child, adolescent, and family clinicians.

There are moments of connection between analysts and patients during any therapeutic encounter upon which the therapy can turn. Moments of Meeting in Psychoanalysis explores how analysts and therapists can experience these moments of meeting, shows how this interaction can become an enlivening and creative process, and seeks to recognise how it can change both the analyst and patient in profound and fundamental ways. The theory and practice of contemporary psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy has reached an exciting new moment of generous and generative interaction. As psychoanalysts become more intersubjective and relational in their work, it becomes increasingly critical that they develop approaches that have the capacity to harness and understand powerful moments of meeting, capable of propelling change through the therapeutic relationship. Often these are surprising human moments in which both client and clinician are moved and transformed. Moments of Meeting in Psychoanalysis offers a window into the ways in which some of today’s practitioners think about, encourage, and work with these moments of meeting in their practices. Each chapter of the book offers theoretical material, case examples, and a discussion of various therapists’ reflections on and experiences with these moments of meeting. With contributions from relational psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and Jungian analysts, and covering essential topics such as shame, impasse, mindfulness, and group work, this book offers new theoretical thinking and practical clinical guidance on how best to work with moments of meeting in any relationally oriented therapeutic practice. Moments of Meeting in Psychoanalysis will be of great interest to psychoanalysts, psychoanalytic psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, workers in other mental health fields, graduate students, and anyone interested in change processes.

“You are a herald for your generation....Thank you for using your voice to help us make sense of that dark day, and forge a new beginning.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a letter to Helaina Hovitz Helaina Hovitz was twelve years old and in middle school just blocks away when the World Trade Center was attacked. Her memoir encapsulates the journey of a girl growing up with PTSD after living through the events firsthand. After 9/11 chronicles its effects on a young girl at the outset of adolescence, following her as she spirals into addiction and rebellion, through loss, chaos, and confusion. The events and experiences that are now common knowledge to everyone were a very real part of Helaina’s life and are still as vivid in her memory today. The sickening thud of falling bodies hitting cars, and the crumbling towers, her universe engulfed literally in a cloud, was all so much for a young girl to experience. Hundreds were stranded in the neighborhood, including Helaina, without phones or electricity or anyone to help. For fear of subsequent attack, not to mention the toxic substances in the air, few went outside. In the wake of 9/11, fear and despair took over her life. It would take Helaina more than a decade to overcome the PTSD—and subsequent alcohol addiction—that went misdiagnosed and mistreated for so many years. In many ways, After 9/11 is the story of a generation growing up in the aftermath of America’s darkest day—and for one young woman, it is the story of a survivor who, after witnessing the end, got to make a new beginning.

Does terrorism have a unique and significant emotional and behavioral impact among adults and children? In what way does the impact of terrorism exceed the individual level and affect communities and specific professional groups, and test different leadership styles? How were professional communities of mental health clinicians, policy-makers and researchers mobilized to respond to the emerging needs post disaster? What are the lessons learned from the work conducted after 9/11, and the implications for future disaster mental health work and preparedness efforts? Yuval Neria and his team are uniquely placed to answer these questions having been involved in modifying ongoing trials and setting up new ones in New York to address these issues straight after the attacks. No psychiatrist, mental health professional or policy-maker should be without this book.