Shared Trauma

Abstract This article describes the unique collective reflections of M.S.W. students enrolled in the senior author's “Clinical Practice with Groups” course when the September 11th tragedy occurred. The instructor and many of the students, due to the proximity of the school to the disaster site, were first-hand witnesses to the event. The article addresses the student clinicians' initial reactions to the tragedy, as well as their later realizations that their personal and professional lives would be permanently altered by the experience. The unusual opportunity for growth and the implications for clinical practice are also considered in the context of professional literature on the topic of secondary trauma.