God's Gifts: Director of Catholic Charities Fort Dodge office volunteers at ground zero
By RENEE WEBB
Globe associate editor
Posted September 12, 2002

FORT DODGE - The minute Arlene M. McColley Nicola saw the second plane hit the tower, she knew she wanted to be involved in the healing process.

"At the time, I said, 'If I am needed, I will go. The way I will know if I am needed is if it is requested.' I thought there could be 10,000 people going out there. I didn't want to go just to be part of it and because everybody's doing it," she explained.

Nicola is the director of Catholic Charities Fort Dodge branch, known as Catholic Social Services. She works in trauma recovery on a regular basis.

However, it was her involvement as a volunteer for North Central Critical Incident Stress Management Team that called her to New York. This is a group of mental health workers and peers (police, fire personnel, emergency service workers) that provide debriefings to first responders who have been involved in critical incidents. Along with first responders, she has led debriefings for work-site traumas with bank robberies or suicides.

"I became a member of the team in 1997," she recalled. "We had to have special training in a particular debriefing model - the Mitchell Model."

There are several of these teams throughout the state.

"What we know is that when people experience trauma, if there can be an intervention through debriefings it helps people process better. It helps them stay on the job longer and helps prevent post traumatic stress disorder," said Nicola.

The group that arranged via state networks for stress management teams to provide debriefings in New York for police was POPPA, a police organization. Initially these services were optional but by the time Nicola arrived, the debriefings were mandatory. A group of six to 10 police would go through together.

"When they came in they seemed kind of suspicious and concerned. Then we would do a group process of talking through their emotions, thoughts and what they experienced," she said. They discussed signs of stress and ways of coping with stress. "They would leave more uplifted. They didn't know what to expect when they went in, but because they had to be there, there was no losing face."

Even in the short time that she was with the police, Nicola said most of these people had the signs and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. This disorder generally occurs when someone has been exposed to a traumatic event that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to their physical integrity or others. That person's response involves intense fear, helplessness or horror.

Recurrent intrusive and distressing images, recurrent frightening dreams, feelings that the event is recurring, psychological distress and a physiological reaction are possible manifestations.

While police are accustomed to some trauma on the job, Nicola noted this event was so massive and shocking.

"There is this whole sense that we are vulnerable," she said. "I think the overall effect for everyone in a matter of degree - even Iowans - is that our illusion or naivete that we are all safe is now shattered."

The Catholic Charities worker noticed that people reacted in their own way. Some had a fear of subways, since it was destroyed there. Others were more intense about where their children were throughout the day because they realize the unbelievable can happen. They expressed anger over having to go through a debriefing, but it quickly subsided.

"Whenever there was a plane in the air, people were looking up at it," said Nicola. "You saw that somewhat in Iowa, but it was on a larger scale and more intense there."

She also witnessed intense appreciation expressed for workers who came from far away to help.

The debriefings were a one-time session for the police, but they were encouraged to continue counseling.

Because she regularly works with clients who have post traumatic stress, Nicola did not have the sense of being overwhelmed by the situation and was able to focus on healing the people.

"I felt good that I could be a part of the healing," she said. "I realized I could not help prevent people from post traumatic stress because they already had it, but I could help prevent further extensions of the symptoms."

If she didn't believe in healing, Nicola noted that she couldn't do all of this trauma work.

"I am constantly amazed and intrigued by the awesome power of Christ in the healing process," she stressed. "I don't think that true healing - spiritual, physical, emotional - can happen without Christ."

Through her work, Nicola sees herself as an instrument of God's peace and healing. She strives to help people resolve and heal from their woundedness.

"I do feel really gifted in it," she acknowledged. When she is faced with unclear situations, the counselor added, "It has been so clear to me that I have to rest in the Lord and he works through me. The Holy Spirit is directing me."

When she arrived in New York, ground zero was already 65 feet below ground level.

"Some people referred to it as looking like a construction site. That is not how I would define it. I thought it looked like a war zone - thinking of other countries after bombings," said Nicola.

They were still recovering bodies and body parts during her week in New York. One day 11 were recovered. Police, firemen and construction workers were working at the site and every time they recovered a body brought a surge of emotions.

She pointed out that members of her team were initially supposed to go in January, but it was put on hold after there was a change in the governor and other officials. The delay put her in New York at the six-month anniversary, "which ended up being pretty significant. Anniversary dates are traumatic with any kind of loss."

At the six-month anniversary, Nicola saw a young mother who placed a family picture of what she believed were the woman, her children and the deceased husband on a utility pole.

"What I saw that was so moving was how she took Scotch-tape and very meticulously covered every area of that picture so as to protect it from the weather. My guess was that she had lost a spouse," she said. "That was so striking."

Nicola expects Sept. 11 to bring back many emotions.

Catholic Charities paid her normal wage during the week and Trinity Regional Hospital Foundation in Fort Dodge paid for her plane ticket.