This week is the anniversary of 9/11, of the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It was a time of horror and grief for all of us and also a time when we at CMBM came together to help survivors deal with the tragedies they’d experienced. It is a time we invite you to commemorate with us at our webinar next Friday, September 11th, 2020.
Our response in 2001 focused on New York City firefighters and their families, a community of extraordinary courage, grace and connection. Next Friday, we will be honoring those firefighters and family members who we came to know so well and sharing with you the lessons we learned from them, and the ongoing commitment that we’ve made to firefighters and their families across the United States.
Our guest on next week’s webinar, “Honoring and Serving the Bravest: Sharing Hope and Healing with Firefighters and Their Families”, will be Margaret Gavian, PhD. Margaret worked closely with Dr. Gordon in 2001 as they created a program for the New York City firefighters and their families. In the years since then, Margaret has expanded and deeped that commitment. She’s currently Medical Director for the Minnesota Fire Initiative, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to addressing the psychological needs and health disparities of Minnesota firefighters, who like their brothers and sisters across the country, suffer from high rates of suicide, depression, and chronic illness.
They will be discussing the extraordinary challenges that firefighters face, and the ways she has used CMBM’s model of self-care and group support to help them to mobilize their individual capacity for healing as well as the profound therapeutic power of their close community. They will be exploring the lessons that she has learned from firefighters who are as smart and funny as they are brave. Margaret and Dr. Gordon both hope that the program she is creating in Minnesota, will be an inspiration and an example for the rest of the country.
In weeks ahead we’ll be looking at ways the CMBM model is being used to help police and other first responders meet the challenges they’re facing.
This webinar is approximately 60 minutes in length, and will be broadcast live at 3PM ET on Friday, September 11. In the latter part of the webinar, Margaret and Dr. Gordon will be answering questions from viewers.
You can discover more about my complete trauma-healing program in The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma.