As we approach the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks which affected all of us, people in the country and around the world will be reflecting on that trauma. Trauma is a negative event of loss that overwhelms us, that sails past our best defenses and leaves us feeling victimized and temporarily helpless. It is usually sudden, taking us by surprise even if on some level we might have been expecting it. It damages us in a way that leaves us wondering if we’ll ever be the same.
The Psychology of 9/11: Perpetrator Motivations and Our Reactions
Every September, we remember the nearly 3,000 people murdered on September 11, 2001. We also confront a question that is difficult to ask without seeming to excuse the crime: How did the men who planned it come to believe that killing strangers, and dying themselves, was justified? As a psychotherapist, I have thought about that … Read more
