Helping New Yorkers Heal: Manuel Trujillo and Bellevue after 9/11

Born and trained in Seville, Manuel Trujillo is a psychiatrist whose career in New York has combined clinical leadership, research, and teaching, and he served as director of psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital from 1990 to 2008. After leading the department he founded a Fellowship in Public Psychiatry in 2008, a program designed to prepare clinicians for community and public sector work, and he holds a clinical professorship at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

When the World Trade Center towers fell on September 11, 2001, Bellevue shifted quickly to emergency operations and received many rescue workers and survivors who needed immediate and long‑term mental health care. Public health studies later documented persistent physical and psychological conditions among responders, which meant that hospitals and clinics had to create sustained monitoring and treatment programs. Only with organized training and research could services be expanded to meet those needs.

Trujillo has written and lectured on post-traumatic stress and on cultural competence in psychiatric care, and his publications list includes presentations on the psychological impact of the Twin Tower disaster. He has also promoted the use of neuroimaging and clinical research to improve diagnosis and treatment, arguing that education and evidence should guide clinical change.

Consequently, the mix of disaster response, ongoing clinical programs, and dedicated training at Bellevue produced a model in which public psychiatry and specialty care were linked. While many challenges remained, the emphasis on trainee education and community outreach helped to build more resilient services for New Yorkers who were affected by trauma.