Trauma

Even when the war ends, Israel's bereaved families never fully heal - opinion

The public’s attention to bereaved families is waning. A bereaved family is one that has lost a limb of its body; remember that our pain does not fade, even as the days pass and the headlines change

 DEMONSTRATORS CALL for the release of the hostages still held captive in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, on Saturday night. The hostages taken by Hamas during its rampage have endured ordeals that defy any civilized description, the writer affirms.
 THE WRITER addresses a recent ICAR Collective conference, which took place with the participation of international experts, policymakers, professionals, and influencers to discuss the most urgent challenges in the realm of mental health and showing resilience in the face of trauma.

On mental health, crisis, and (in)action - opinion

Hananel, Tze'ela and sons in happier times.

Tze’ela Gez’s mother-in-law, Naomi: 'Life is still beautiful'

 An illustrative image of a therapist and patient.

Israel needs to build a better system to handle mental health crises - opinion


The war-within-a-war: The silent front of Israel's mental health - opinion

The Israel-Hamas War is now overlaid by an openly declared Israel-Iran confrontation, creating what many Israelis feel is a new war inside the preexisting one.

  Israelis take cover in a public shelter in Jerusalem, during a ballistic missile attack fired from Iran into Israel June 13, 2025.

Innovation and investment: Israel's path to national resilience - opinion

Investing in resilience technologies and mental health is essential to Israel's continued existence as a strong, stable, and secure society.

 MEMBERS OF the Resilience Accelerator in Sderot meet with Teva Israel CEO Yossi Ofek (far right) in Tel Aviv as part of the accelerator’s initiative to connect resilience-promoting start-ups with Teva Pharmaceuticals.

United Hatzalah provides dog therapy to survivors, first responders at missile impact sites

This is to "help survivors and families evacuated from their damaged homes," United Hatzalah added.

 Two IDF soldiers with a United Hatzalah therapy dog, Hope, as part of a new psychotraumatic support program, June 2025.

Israeli musicians help Jews worldwide cope with post-October 7 trauma

Since October 7, Hashayara has played for displaced families, evacuated communities, soldiers on the front lines, and youth in bomb shelters.

Hashayara in Wilmington, Delaware.

‘Traumatic invalidation’: Therapists discuss how Jewish distress has been ignored since Oct. 7

Many Jews have been "met with a stunning mix of silence, blaming, excluding, and even outright denying the atrocities of Oct. 7," explained Bar-Halpern and Wolfman.

  Kay and Hannah Dubrow attend a "Stand with Israel" rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2023.

Israel’s mental health crisis: The war’s hidden toll on mothers and soldiers - opinion

Rehabilitating the Israeli psyche. A national plan is urgently needed.

An IDF soldier sits on a beach in Tel Aviv

Netanyahu in the spotlight versus at home: A psychoanalyst's view, 30 years after PM's rise

According to the psychologist, Netanyahu is a sharp, authoritative leader, but emotionally detached, shaped by a distant father, and lacking in personal support.

 Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara tour in Tel Gezer and Magshimim Forest together with their sons Yair and Avner, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 21, 2016.

Healing beyond borders: A journey into the Dominican Republic’s US Veterans Village - opinion

Honoring the fallen also means caring for the living. The Dominican Republic US Veterans Village is a global blueprint for trauma recovery.

 THE DOMINICAN Republic US Veterans Village, which provides a model of care that carries profound lessons in confronting the hidden wounds of war, says the writer, shown here with his wife, Adi Bedein, flanked by co-founder Dr. Gary Deutchman (left), and US Marine veteran Manny Salazar (right).

Building Resilience: TAU National Center for Trauma and Resilience

The Miriam and Moshe Shuster Building will be the new home for the center and its flagship facility: The Trauma and Anxiety Clinic.

 Architectural rendering of the Miriam and Moshe Shuster Building, designed by architect Erez Shani.

It starts with our children: Healing the deepest wounds of Israel's war - opinion

The emotional toll of the war is hard on children. Home Within the Heart, a University of Haifa initiative, works on addressing children's emotional needs.

 CHILDREN PARTICIPATE in a Home Within the Heart session.

We are not okay — and it’s time to say it out loud - opinion

There's a price to pay for suppressing the national emotional state. We can only begin to heal by acknowledging that things are bad and change is needed.

 VISITORS TO the site of the Nova music festival massacre stand as nationwide sirens sound on Remembrance Day last month. We’ve learned to live with pain and violence to the point our that emotions have dulled, the writer laments.