A Message About the Boston Marathon Bombing

Starting with the horrific bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the last week has been difficult for all of us, as we have been touched by the tragedy, fear, and uncertainty caused by terrorism. We have grieved for all those killed and injured by these acts—they and their families are in our hearts.

We’d like to express our sincere appreciation to the first responders, law enforcement, medical personnel, caregivers, and the MA National Guard/Reserve, and thank them for extending their extraordinary skill and boundless compassion to save lives and comfort families and friends in their loss. We are profoundly grateful for these acts of service.

As you return to work and school after an extremely difficult week, we want to share the following thoughts and resources.

Please call us if we can be helpful in navigating your own emotional responses, supporting your work with your clients, or other concerns that may have arisen due to the bombings and their aftermath.

We hope that you feel well equipped to help others make sense of their automatic reactions, and to be forgiving and gentle with themselves as we all heal. The meaning and worldview questions also will be very individual and will evolve, and may be influenced by what we learn about the motivations of the perpetrators.

Below are a few resources that may be of assistance as we recover together; we hope they are helpful:

National Center for PTSD
Resources for survivors and the public following sudden trauma
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/survivors_disaster.asp

National Child Traumatic Stress Network
http://www.nctsnet.org/
Psychological First Aid Guide

Zero to Three, Inc.
Resources for parents and providers of very young children
http://zerotothree.org/

Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA)
Marathon Bombings FAQ for Victims

Self-Care Toolkit
Developing Your Maintenance Self-Care Plan, University at Buffalo School of Social Work

We hope you are all doing as well as can be expected, and are taking care of yourselves and your loved ones.

**Note:  We will continue to update this page with resources.