2023-12-18 12:24:56
A report published by the network stated,CNNThe American newspaper said that mental health services in Israel “are no longer capable of dealing with the enormous number of psychological and emotional traumas” that resulted from the unprecedented attacks launched by the Hamas movement on the south of the country, on the seventh of last October.
According to the report, the competent authorities in Israel “hired volunteers to cover the increasing needs in treating these cases.”
Mental health specialist, Marina Golan (42 years old), who had previously volunteered to travel to Kiev to help treat the psychological and emotional traumas that resulted from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, explained that she received calls from psychiatrists from Ukraine to provide assistance and return the favor.
Golan was part of a delegation of Israeli psychologists who volunteered to support the war-torn country with their expertise in trauma treatment.
While there, they provided workshops for clinicians and teachers on psychological management of trauma.
She explained: “It was very emotional, and I felt that we were doing very important things. Our colleagues in Ukraine did not have this kind of knowledge, so they were very grateful to us.”
Only weeks later, the situation turned around, as Golan continued: “When the war started (between Israel and Hamas), I received messages from my colleagues in Ukraine asking me if I needed their help now.”
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Like other mental health professionals, Golan has been working around the clock to deal with the repercussions of the surprise attack by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries.
She noted that in addition to having her own clinic in Israel, she supports children and their families in two schools.
Shock waves ‘throughout the country’
The specialist explained that she had participated since the first day of the attacks in providing assistance, adding: “At that time, we held the first meeting via the Zoom application on that Saturday (October 7) with the teachers, and then with the parents, to understand the type of impact that the attacks had.”
She noted that therapists and teachers created a map showing “circles of influence, to understand what we are dealing with.”
Although schools were on holiday at the time, the shock waves were strong, according to Golan, who added: “I have a child in the second grade of primary school… and he saw some family members killed before his eyes.”
She said that many of the people she sees are “suffering from deep obsessions, trying to find some logical explanations to understand what happened and connect the dots.”
She stressed that people have to continue with their lives to some extent, despite the ongoing war, and the uncertainty about the fate of the remaining hostages.
She considered that “it is still too early to assess the impact on mental health.”
As for the expert in trauma treatment, Ofrit Shapira Berman, she explained that there are “up to 500 volunteer psychoanalysts who support the families of the dead, wounded, and those being held hostage.”
The specialist who heads the mental health team at First Line Med, a volunteer organization that provides services, equipment and counseling to Israelis affected by the October 7 events, explained that “conditions are not good… everyone’s mental health condition is getting worse.”
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She added: “On October 6, we (psychoanalysts) did not all have hours to devote to society, but on October 8, we all found time for it.”
She said, “Everyone is affected, not least because the tragedies of war are at our fingertips, thanks to smartphone technology and social media,” explaining: “We are constantly exposed to a barrage of information, whether requested or unwanted.”
She added: “It is almost impossible to prevent this, and people have mixed feelings about this matter, as they believe that they should watch what happened to their relatives, friends, co-workers and the rest of their people.”
While civil society has been very effective in filling the gaps in government support, psychologist Ghalboa Shechtman believes that “there will eventually be an exhaustion of efforts… It is no secret that the country is overwhelmed by these events.”
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