Narrative and Meaning-Making Among Manhattan Social Workers in the Wake of September 11, 2001

This qualitative study was a thematic analysis of categories of meaning-making contained in the written narratives of 139 clinical social workers living and working in New York City on September 11, 2001 (9/11) related to their personal and professional experiences of the World Trade Center attack. Themes included personal growth and benefit found in the wake of 9/11, the ongoing experience of adversity, and professional growth and lessons learned. Situated in the context of the literature on narrative and meaning-making, the findings offer further support for meaning-making as an intrinsic human activity and shed light on the various ways clinicians integrate an experience of shared trauma. Implications for theory, practice, policy, and future research are suggested.