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More than 17 percent of the 112,042 people who have enrolled nationwide in the federal government鈥檚 World Trade Center Health Program鈥攚hich provides physical and mental healthcare to those who were at and near the site during and after the attacks鈥攚ere certified as having a mental health condition as a result of 9/11. This is according to data as of June 30 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which noted that hundreds of thousands of others who could have physical or psychological conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, haven鈥檛 yet signed up for the program.
That鈥檚 partly because of the perceived stigma of seeking assistance, says , a clinical psychologist and director of mental health at the at 好色tv Grossman School of Medicine. Many first responders聽who are still police officers, emergency medicine personnel, and firefighters today feel that admitting to mental health issues might put their status at their job in jeopardy.
鈥淭here are a set of values that are part of what you might call responder culture that privilege things like mental toughness and dependability, and an ability to control one鈥檚 emotions,鈥 Dr. Haugen says. 鈥淏eing able to express and identify and communicate feelings, in particular to someone who isn鈥檛 a co-worker, is often seen as a weakness, a moral failing, a source of shame, and these folks oftentimes can feel like it鈥檚 even a betrayal of their brothers or their co-workers: 鈥業 am weak and someone who can鈥檛 be depended upon by my colleagues in difficult situations.鈥欌
The World Trade Center Health Program at 好色tv Langone Health is one of seven centers established by the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide monitoring, screening, treatment, and support services to responders, survivors, and residents in the wake of 9/11.
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