Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Covering Trauma: Impact on Journalists

By River Smith and Elana Newman

An overview of current research on the occupational hazards for journalists covering traumatic events, the risk factors that aggravate those effects and some suggestions for mitigating those factors.

Tragedies & Journalists

By Joe Hight and Frank Smyth

A 40-page guide to help journalists, photojournalists and editors report on violence while protecting both victims and themselves.

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Covering Children & Trauma

By Ruth Teichroeb

When children are victims of violence, journalists have a responsibility to report the truth with compassion and sensitivity.

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Choosing a Psychotherapist

By Elana Newman

A guide for journalists seeking therapy for personal or work-related issues.

Framing the Combat Stress Clinic Shooting

By Stan Alcorn

The deadliest soldier-on-soldier incident among U.S. servicemembers since the beginning of the Iraq war occurred yesterday. Sgt. John M. Russell has been charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault after opening fire upon staff at a combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq. More »

Beyond the Breaking Point

By Judith Matloff and Robert Nickelsberg

Caught between military occupation and separatist terrorism, a society that doesn't talk about mental health is desperate for psychiatrists, faith healers, medication — anything that could help heal "one of the most traumatized places on earth." A multimedia exclusive.

Faith Healing in Kashmir

By Robert Nickelsberg and Judith Matloff

Caught between a militant separatist uprising and brutal government suppression, Kashmiris of various religious backgrounds are turning to Sufi holy men to cope with stress both psychological and social.

Experts Unite on Early Trauma Support

Should journalists and other witnesses of traumatic or violent events receive mandatory counseling or debriefing in the immediate aftermath?

Weathering the Trauma Storms: Developing Interviewing Technique

By Gavin Rees

Nearly every journalist in the course of their career will interview people who have experienced significant trauma. But how many receive any training for the task? This article describes how role-playing traumatic incidents might give student journalists valuable insight and hone crucial interviewing skills.

Interviewing Service Members

By Joe Hight

Suggestions for journalists interviewing service members returning from Iraq, the Middle East, or Afghanistan.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Reporting on Iraq Veterans

From catastrophic physical injuries to the invisible wounds of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, the Iraq war has exerted a heavy toll on hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops. At a recent Dart Center event at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, four pioneers in reporting the human impact of the Iraq War discussed the challenges of reporting on these veterans.

Covering Trauma: Impact on the Public

By Christina Cantrell

An overview of current research on how news coverage of traumatic event effects the public and the risk factors that exascerbate reactions of distress.

Anthony Feinstein Wins Ochberg Award

Second Recipient of Award for Media and Trauma Study

When the history of journalism's discovery of the importance of understanding trauma comes to be written, a place of honor will go to Dr Anthony Feinstein.

Stockholm Trauma & Journalism Workshop

By Mervyn Jess

In mid-June, I sat alongside several hundred other delegates in Stockholm's Conference Centre listening with great interest to Professor Ronald Crelinsten from the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria in Canada.

Hurricane Opens Trauma Wounds

By Frank Ochberg

Now that a major storm has struck the same regions that were battered last year, people face something called re-traumatization. What does that mean and what can we do about it?

Stockholm Trauma & Journalism Workshop

A Report on the Conference

By Robert Holloway

A report from the 2005 Stockholm Trauma & Journalism Workshop.

The NICE Guidelines

A Frontline Club Discussion

Britain's National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recently published the most comprehensive guidelines compiled to date on effective treatments for post-traumatic stress (PSTD).

'Unprecedented' Report Examines War Effects

Mental-Health Stigma May Keep Sufferers from Seeking Help

By Jesse Tarbert

About one out of six veterans (15.6 to 17.1 percent) returning from Iraq met criteria for combat-related psychiatric disorders, including depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, researchers say in a report published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Study: Photographers and Trauma

A survey of photojournalists showed that the vast majority have been exposed to traumatic events, and that about six percent report symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a recently published study by Dart Center researchers.

9-11 Anniversary Reactions

An Interview With Dr. Frank Ochberg

By Frank Ochberg

Because many Americans will be profoundly affected by reminders of the September 11 attacks, Joyce Boaz, Executive Director of Gift From Within asked Frank Ochberg to reflect on anniversary reactions. Coincidentally, Dr. Ochberg was interviewed on that topic by Richard Kaplan, PhD, senior staff editor with Coffey Communications.