A team of five Bermudians who travelled to Ground Zero in New York to offer stress management to volunteers have returned to the Island as changed people.

The members of Bermuda's Critical Stress Management (CISM) team spent five days counselling New York Police officers who have been helping to clear the site from day one.

Some were actually at the Twin Towers before they collapsed on September 11 last year, and others arrived later that day or soon after.

None of them had received trauma counselling, but all needed it.

Leader of the CISM team Doris DeCosta was accompanied to Manhattan by Police welfare officer Mira Ingemann, Police Inspector Tracy Adams, P.c. Marsh Smith,and retired officer Roger Kendall.

They said their five days in New York had had a profound impact on their lives, but each said they hoped to go back and help further.

And without exception, they each said the experience had changed them for ever.

Mr. Kendall said: "We were dealing with New York cops. They were all very mature people. They had seen it all before and done it all before. Nothing phases them.

"At first, when we counselled them in groups they were embarrassed to talk about how they felt and their own experiences, but as we progressed, grown men just broke down. It was like opening the flood gates and all their memories came out.

"A lot of these people were first responders and had been there from the moment the first plane crashed into the tower, yet they had never talked to anyone or had any official counselling. They have been working six days a week. These people needed an outlet."

Ms DeCosta said New York Police department has 40,000 officers, so reaching them all with counselling during the past six months has been impossible, but she said the benefit of therapy was noticeable after just a few hours.

She said: "A lot of Police officers we asked had never had the chance to talk, and a lot of them had post traumatic stress disorder. A lot of them I saw were not well - I'm sure a lot of them need on-going treatment. We were there to tell them that what they were going through was normal and to get them to recognise it.

"They had to learn to deal with their stress and learn how to handle it."

Ms Ingemann said the officers had been on automatic pilot since September 11 and had still not wound down.

She said each of the Bermudians had heard many sad stories during their assignment in the US, but each one had a particular story they remembered.

She said: "I think we all have heard stories that have had a profound effect on us. When we went out to Ground Zero I could not look up in the street to where the buildings had stood because of what I had been told.

"Hearing some stories, it was almost like we were there. It was very disturbing. The officers talked of how it was literally raining bodies and body parts before and after the towers fell.

"There was body parts in the harbour and in Battery Park. They told us how they were pulling burned bodies out of the wreckage, and how they had to run for their lives once the buildings started to come down.

"It was horrific. It is no wonder some of the officers have been having flashbacks and nightmares."

And Ms Ingemann said every single counselling group had talked about the only female officer who had died at Ground Zero. She said they told how they had listened to her die over the Police radio, which was in use throughout the city.

She said: "This woman died on the radio. Everyone heard her screaming for help over the radio after she was trapped and buried in the rubble, then, it went silent. They knew she had died.

"Strangely, they found her body the week after we left. I think that story was brought up in every single session."

During the week the five were in New York, a number of bodies were recovered from below ground level at the World Trade Center site.

Ms Ingemann said until the bodies were brought out, she had viewed the area as a huge building site. She said: "As we watched them pull bodies out, and everyone paid their respects, it sunk in that this was not just an ordinary building site - thousands of people had died there.

"I got a sense of reverence - it was all so real. Everyone honoured the dead and it was a very emotional, intense time. It was something I will never forget."

Mr. Kendall said each of the New York officers had different things to express. Some felt guilt because they had not been working at the time the towers were hit, others felt guilty because some of their colleagues had been lost. And some suffered guilt because they had maybe pushed someone over in the rush to get out of the vicinity of the towers as they collapsed. They wondered whether they had been able to flee.

Insp. Adams said he had found the experience more emotional than overwhelming, and said he felt most for the New York crisis intervention teams themselves.

They had been counselling people since September 11 and he said, in his view, many of them needed treatment themselves.

He said: "During the week, there were a number of people who we counselled that broke down, including one of our team. Just listening to the stories was unbelievable.

"One guy said he believed the world was coming to an end. The story that sticks out in my mind is a woman who had encouraged this guy to join the Port Authority Police. He had only been there for a week and he lost his life in the attack. She felt responsible for his death and found the guilt very difficult.

"When people shared things like that with me, I felt very honoured to be able to be there and offer some help.

"I would certainly like to go back if needed. It was a privilege that I will never forget."

The team thanked the Ace Foundation for sponsoring them, and both the Police and Bermuda Hospital's Board, who had agreed to allow them time away from work to assist in New York.