The Practice Directorate asked Public Education Campaign (PEC) coordinators for anecdotal information about whether and how the online materials from APA concerning terrorism and trauma have been helpful for community support and outreach efforts. Several coordinators offered the following feedback.

• California PEC Coordinator Jana Martin, Ph.D. met with more than one dozen church-affiliated preschool center directors in the greater Long Beach area. She reviewed with them the APA material on “Coping With Terrorism” and “Talking With Youth About Traumatic Events” (see other sidebar), and offered suggestions on how to help parents help their children. According to Dr. Martin, “The directors seemed most pleased with getting tips on how to handle difficult situations.”
• New Jersey PEC Coordinator Nina Thomas, Ph.D., and many of her colleagues have been involved in their schools, religious groups and other community venues helping friends and neighbors in distress. Dr. Thomas noted that in situations when she and other representatives of the New Jersey Psychological Association have used information materials from APA, they have “disappeared as fast as we can provide them.” In her own practice, she found the youth-oriented material “enormously helpful to have within two days to offer parents who were themselves overwhelmed and unable to begin to frame how to approach their children.”
• Hawaii PEC Coordinator Graham Taylor, Psy.D., said that all school district psychologists in the state were advised by phone about helpful information for teachers. The district psychologists received a follow-up email listing of several web sites, including APA’s, with information to assist teachers and parents in talking with children about the tragedy.
• Connecticut PEC Coordinator Deborah Gruen, Ph.D. said she used materials from APA to help her prepare for a radio talk show on the terrorist attacks that focused on children’s responses to severe stress. She also made the terrorism-related information from APA available to colleagues who, according to Dr. Gruen, have found the materials useful in a variety of settings.