Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention Advance Access originally published online on February 1, 2007
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2007 7(2):115-126; doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/mhm003
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School of Social Work Disaster Response Following the World Trade Center Disaster: MSW Student and Field Instructor Perspectives
From the Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center (Matthieu), the Barry University School of Social Work (Lewis), and the Columbia University School of Social Work (Ivanoff, Conroy)
Contact author: Monica Matthieu, Senior Instructor and National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Boulevard, Box PSYCH, Rochester, NY 14642. E-mail: monica_matthieu{at}urmc.rochester.edu.
As part of a larger needs assessment of social workers, this study focuses the September 11, 2001 (9/11), experiences of 286 first-year MSW students and 206 agency-based field instructors in New York City, in response to 9/11. Their perception of the school of social work's disaster response was collected at 1 month from narrative responses to questionnaire items. Results showed that students felt conflicted about the university's response; in class, group discussion was beneficial, others wanted normal school routines. Some field instructors surveyed felt supported by the academic institution, yet others felt underutilized. The school of social work, embedded within the larger community, acts as a central hub of information, training, and resources in times of a national catastrophe.
KEY WORDS: social workers, September 11th, mental health personnel, college, disaster