US SEEKS OMAGH'S TRAUMA THERAPY EXPERIENCE
US seeks Omagh's trauma therapy experience
Experience gained in helping people deal with the after-effects of the Omagh bombing is now being used to help those affected by the September 11 tragedies in the USA.
Since the bombing of August 1998, Omagh Trauma Centre has helped hundreds of people who were bereaved, injured or traumatised.
Now the trauma centre has been contacted by support groups form the USA seeking experienced assistance.
That help was outlined by Michael Duffy, head of the Trauma Centre, when he spoke at a presentation in Stormont on the emotional effects of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
He said that at the trauma centre, "talking therapies" were being used to deal with the effects of the bombing.
Said Mr. Duffy: "At the Omagh Trauma Centre, we have helped individuals deal with the effects of the bomb. We have already been contacted by support groups from the United States seeking out experienced assistance in dealing with the after-effects of the September 11 tragedy."
The Stormont presentation heard a call by Professor Monica McWilliams MLA for politicians and policy makers to recognise the deep emotional effects of continued conflict.
And Dr. Raman Kapur, director and consultant clinical psychologist of THRESHOLD, spoke on how the abnormal could become 'normal' in a society exposed to more than 30 years of violence.
"The cycle of violence within which we have lived has created a culture with a troubled mind. Northern Ireland has a greater incidence of traffic accidents and child sexual abuse than any other part of the United Kingdom. People who have lived with the culture of funeral after funeral need assistance with the trauma that these images have engendered," he said.
Experience gained in helping people deal with the after-effects of the Omagh bombing is now being used to help those affected by the September 11 tragedies in the USA.
Since the bombing of August 1998, Omagh Trauma Centre has helped hundreds of people who were bereaved, injured or traumatised.
Now the trauma centre has been contacted by support groups form the USA seeking experienced assistance.
That help was outlined by Michael Duffy, head of the Trauma Centre, when he spoke at a presentation in Stormont on the emotional effects of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
He said that at the trauma centre, "talking therapies" were being used to deal with the effects of the bombing.
Said Mr. Duffy: "At the Omagh Trauma Centre, we have helped individuals deal with the effects of the bomb. We have already been contacted by support groups from the United States seeking out experienced assistance in dealing with the after-effects of the September 11 tragedy."
The Stormont presentation heard a call by Professor Monica McWilliams MLA for politicians and policy makers to recognise the deep emotional effects of continued conflict.
And Dr. Raman Kapur, director and consultant clinical psychologist of THRESHOLD, spoke on how the abnormal could become 'normal' in a society exposed to more than 30 years of violence.
"The cycle of violence within which we have lived has created a culture with a troubled mind. Northern Ireland has a greater incidence of traffic accidents and child sexual abuse than any other part of the United Kingdom. People who have lived with the culture of funeral after funeral need assistance with the trauma that these images have engendered," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0940
Published Date: 25-Oct-01
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