September 2, 2002

CONTACT:
Linda Simmons Hight
Media Relations Director
Church of Scientology International
6331 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90028-6329
Phone (323) 960-3500
Fax (323) 960-3508
E-mail mediarelationsdir@scientology.net

TRAUMA RELIEF CENTERS SET UP TO RELIEVE 9/11 SUFFERING

Fear. Anxiety. Stress. Eighty percent of respondents to an international survey six months after 9/11/01 reported they were suffering these painful emotions in reaction to the tragic events.

Now, on the one-year anniversary of 9/11, many people say these feelings have never left them and that they are in fact intensifying as reminders of that day increase.

Why is it that the sound of a plane overhead, an image on television, or a particular song pull a person back into the emotions of a time gone by?

Scientology Volunteer Ministers know the answer and can help others deal with it. L. Ron Hubbard described the phenomenon in his landmark book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. When a person experiences a shocking incident, all the sights, sounds and images of that moment are recorded in what he named the reactive mind and can be reactivated at any time by similar circumstances in the environment. Thus, a person hearing a plane overhead in September 2002 may then start to re-experiences the pain and emotion associated with September 11, 2001.

The good news? Something can be done about it.

In Churches of Scientology in New York and Washington, D.C., where the largest number of residents are expected to request assistance, as well as in communities across the nation, Volunteer Ministers have set up Trauma Relief Centers to provide help to anyone affected by the events of 9/11. Volunteer Ministers trained to use Dianetics techniques and Scientology “assists,” simple and powerful procedures to relieve emotional and physical pain, work one-on-one with a person to help alleviate the painful memories and overcome them so they can get on with living.

Rev. Janet Weiland, vice president of Church of Scientology International, said that “Scientology Volunteer Ministers are trained to relieve a person’s trauma and shock and have for 25 years been helping at disasters around the world. They create stability for the victims and rescue workers so they can function in the here-and-now. We also teach them these procedures so they can help their own families and friends.”

More information on the Volunteer Ministers program and its 25th anniversary this year is available at www.volunteerminister.org or by calling 1-800-HELP-4-YU.