Healing a Nation

The entire Israeli population has been exposed to traumatic events which mark one of the most challenging trials our country has ever faced. For over 26 years, NATAL has been answering the call, and since October 7, this mission has never been more vital. Due to the profound depth of trauma’s invisible wounds, we know that this crucial work will need to continue for many months and years to come. NATAL’s crucial work enables victims and survivors of terror and war to build resilience, to heal and eventually, to live again.

NATAL is an apolitical non-profit organization that offers psychological and emotional treatment and support to victims of trauma due to war and terror. Since its establishment in 1998, NATAL has provided psychological assistance to individuals in Israel from all sectors of society, irrespective of age, gender and ethnicity. NATAL has had an impact on the lives of over 500,000 people to date through its Helpline, Community Resilience Unit, Clinical Unit, Trauma Studies Centre, and Testimonial Center.

Changing Needs and Rapid Responses:

Needs in the field continue to change rapidly, and mental health challenges are growing exponentially in the face of an overwhelming national crisis. The true extent of this crisis is only now becoming clearer in the coming days and months. The timeline since the inception of the war can be divided into 3 phases:

• Immediate: Emergency mental health response

• Intermediate: Treating trauma during the war

• Long-term: Treatment of post-traumatic symptoms and rehabilitation.

NATAL is currently in the intermediate phase of treatment, focusing on the following initiatives:

• Treating Musical Festival Survivors:

  • NATAL was appointed by The Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs and The Ministry of Health to coordinate the various initiatives and efforts treating victims who were at the three music festivals (most notably “NOVA Festival '') in Rei'm on October 7th. NATAL’s professionals have led seminars and lectures to prepare hundreds of municipal social workers for their work with Music Festival Survivors. Many of these social workers have experienced secondary trauma and re-traumatization and NATAL’s work strengthens their resilience, mitigating the onset of burnout and compassion fatigue.

• Helping Reserve Soldiers Return to Civilian Life:

  • Reports from the field show that the transition back to routine and civil society after spending months in the incredible intensity of combat is a complex situation which requires sensitivity. In fact, it is often the reservists who are in need of the most emotional support. Discharged soldiers are not able to automatically return to routine on the mental and emotional level– it takes a period of decompression, which is fraught with additional challenges, like the compounding anxieties of their families and communities. NATAL is there to help them resiliently transition back to life, from answering their calls on the Helpline and treatment in the Clinic, to support groups for their spouses and families. NATAL’s Personal and Career Development Unit has been conducting training for workplaces and employers, designed to support them in addressing trauma-related issues, particularly as they prepare for the return of their enlisted personnel to the workplace.

• Supporting NATAL Patients with Preexisting PTSD:

  • NATAL has been providing ongoing support to individuals with pre existing PTSD, understanding the complex layers of their trauma, as they may also be reenlisted. Our specialized therapists are dedicated to helping them navigate their retriggered symptoms, offering much-needed stability. In recent weeks, the Personal and Career Development Unit has resumed its mentorship and career coaching programs. During routine times, these programs are designed to help individuals with post-trauma fully realize their potential as they reintegrate into the workforce, but in wartime, they serve as another point of contact for follow up with participants. That is, if a participant of the mentorship program shows post-traumatic symptoms, their career mentor swiftly reconnects them to therapeutic resources at NATAL, ensuring they can stay on track.

• Strengthening Families, Empowering Parents with Resiliency Tools:

  • In these challenging times, parents are the pillars of their families, and NATAL is here to provide them with resiliency tools to support their children. Through workshops and individual counseling, as well as numerous guides and written materials, we help parents become sources of stability and reassurance, enabling them to guide their children through the aftermath of trauma.

• Clinical Therapeutic Treatment Across Israel:

  • NATAL’s Clinical Unit has recruited and trained over 170 new therapists since October 7th, essentially doubling the number of pre-war therapists. Only therapists with advanced degrees are accepted into the Clinical Unit and they are provided with specialized training in trauma. These additional mental health professionals have enabled NATAL to significantly expand its long-term treatment services across Israel. Therapy is offered both in clinics and onsite in temporary accommodations.

• Treatment for Children and Families:

  • NATAL is currently treating 50 children and their families in the Clinical Unit, as young as 4 years old. Most families have been displaced from southern Israel and concentrated in Omer and Shefayim in temporary accommodation where they receive treatment onsite. NATAL’s Clinical Unit is also seeing cases of young people across Israel in emotional distress due to overexposure to ongoing missile fire.

• Treating the Survivors of Sexual Violence:

  • In the Clinical Unit, 46% of patients are women, doubling the percentage of women in treatment before October 7th. These include veterans in reserve duty, survivors of the NOVA music festival massacre and survivors of the October 7th terror events including the wife of a former hostage. Many of the new women patients in the Clinical Unit have requested to be treated by a female therapist, a marker of sexual trauma.

As more testimony is coming out about extreme sexual violence perpetrated on women on October 7th and on women and men in Hamas captivity, this issue is being to reverberate with great force and its impact will only grow stronger. It is unknown how many victims will require treatment for post-trauma and rape, which is complex, multi-layered and takes much longer to treat. The victim's sense of personal safety and security has been disrupted on many levels.

In NATAL's experience, post-trauma begins to surface once the acute situation is resolved. Research has also shown that it may take survivors of sexual violence time to begin to open up about their experiences. At NATAL, we are beginning to see the first patients who exhibit combined post-trauma from national and sexual terror, we are already treating several.

Those who were exposed to rape and sexual assault as witnesses are also vulnerable to developing secondary trauma. With this type of trauma there is an impact on numerous circles, whether directly or indirectly such as watching videos of the acts. Unfortunately, we expect the number of patients and families dealing with these issues to only continue to rise.