RENO — A University of Nevada, Reno psychologist who has worked with 9/11 survivors is embarking on a pilot study with the goal of bringing the lessons he learned from working with the survivors to others trying to cope with prolonged grief.

Tony Papa, now an assistant professor of psychology at UNR, was working on his doctorate degree in clinical psychology at Columbia University under renowned grief expert, George Bonanno, when the 9/11 tragedy occurred. About one month after the attacks, Papa and Bonanno put a call out to people who were in one of the buildings attacked or who lost someone in the attacks.

They interviewed the respondents initially, and then again six months and 18 months after the first interviews. Those who needed immediate help were guided to further assistance at Project Liberty, a program that provided free counseling and services to New Yorkers following 9/11. The results of Papa’s series of interviews with a few hundred people surprised him.

“It was really amazing how resilient most people were,” he said. “The extreme grief lasted a short time, but then they went on living their lives.”

Early intervention is key in helping those with prolonged grief, Papa said. His new pilot study aims to encourage behaviors that he saw in those who were successful in dealing with their grief from 9/11 in others in the early stages of prolonged grief. The technique he is using is called behavior activation, and there is strong research indicating its effectiveness in treating depression and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). However, the technique hasn’t been applied or researched in the treatment of prolonged grief.

Papa is now accepting participants for his pilot study. People interested in participating in the study may be eligible if they meet the following criteria:

• Minimum of 21 years old.

• The person has had someone close die within the last six to 12 months.

• The death is affecting the person much the same way as it did when it occurred.

• The reaction is keeping the person from doing important things.

• The person goes through a brief screening.

Participants will receive between 12 and 16 weekly one-hour therapy sessions and will be required to complete four sets of psychological measures that will take them about 30 minutes each to complete. Participants will be compensated up to $80 for their time and there are no drugs involved in the study.

Papa has also helped to develop Internet-based early intervention programs for prolonged grief at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and is working with former colleagues at Columbia to modify the program to help veterans dealing with combat losses experienced in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Persons interested in participating in Papa’s prolonged grief study or wanting more information should call 682-8679.