January 15, 2021

Dear Speaker Nancy Pelosi and All Members of the U.S. Congress:

We, members of the World Mental Health Coalition, would like to express our deep concern and sadness for the frightening experiences that you and your staff endured on January 6, 2021.  As an organization dedicated to societal mental health, we would like to acknowledge the unsettling experience you endured and to thank you for your brave actions.

As the nation’s representatives, care for yourself is care for the country.  The kind of dangers in which Donald Trump placed you is a familiar danger we treat with abusers who similarly threaten the safety or lives of those supposedly under their care.  This can be a very disturbing reality to recognize: as human beings, we wish to believe that those who claim to protect us are not capable of harming us.

We would like to send our support for your admirable courage and conviction to stand up to your abusers and to call for impeachment.  We would also like to urge the speaker of the House to be clear and swift in her actions, as boundaries and limit setting are extremely important with dangerous individuals, who generally do not stop until they are contained from the outside.

Please know that we are available for any help with the normal and expected responses to such an extraordinary experience.  These may include lethargy, depression, increased fear, hypervigilance, nightmares, and reliving of the events, if not full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Traumatic experiences can also trigger past traumas in ways that are distressing or even debilitating.  If any of these occur, please do not suffer alone.

We respect and appreciate you.  We are available for consultation, as our voluntary contribution to your efforts.  Again, the World Mental Health Coalition exists to support societal mental health, of which you are an important part.  Hence, please do not hesitate to contact us for any kind of conference, guidance, or any other help.

Sincerely,

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div.

On Behalf of the World Mental Health Coalition