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FROM: THE NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE 1051 Riverside Drive New York, NY 10032 Contact: Dacia Morris (212) 543-5421 Rubenstein Associates, Inc., Public Relations Contact: Deborah Raskin (212) 843-8028
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW
Latino Outreach as First Anniversary of September 11th Approaches Doctors Worry about Ongoing and Untreated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Fears
The Trauma Studies Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (PI), has been coordinating efforts in the New York Metropolitan area to train mental health workers in effective trauma treatment. A special effort has been made to reach the Latino community by training primary care physicians in the Washington Heights area. These efforts were undertaken after September 11th to handle the large numbers of people suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The researchers in the Hispanic Treatment Program at PI understand that traditionally there has been a stigma attached to psychiatric services, particularly in the Latino population. Dr. Jaime Carcamo, Clinical Psychologist and Research Scientist at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at PI can comment on the recent findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association that New Yorkers have five times the number of probable PTSD cases as Washington, D.C. He can also discuss what impact the upcoming one-year anniversary of September 11th will have on those already coping with PTSD. He and other PI experts fear that those showing signs of recovery from PTSD will regress and those who have yet to seek treatment will be shamed into hiding because of misguided notions that people should have fully recovered by now. |