A delegation of psychologists and senior therapists arrived from Ukraine to Israel over the weekend to learn how to treat war-related trauma.
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As the war in Ukraine continues, 26 senior therapists from Ukraine arrived in Israel on Saturday to confer with experts from NATAL – the Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center, on how to manage trauma response in an emergency, and relieve stress and anxiety during the war.
The project is underway thanks to a special partnership between First Lady Michal Herzog and her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska.
The Ukrainian therapists will attend a four-month program on dealing with trauma, during which they will learn to help the tens of thousands of Ukrainians, who are dealing with trauma due to the war. The program was developed by NATAL over years to treat terror and war-related trauma among Israel's citizens, including veterans, children, victims of terrorist attacks, and residents living in border-adjacent communities.
During the first week of the program the therapists took part in a variety of lectures and workshops covering identifying symptoms of anxiety, stress, and trauma; providing support for first responders; preventing secondary trauma and burnout, and building resilience.
They also learned tools for working with varied populations such as prisoners of war, refugees, victims of sexual violence and more.
NATAL has been working for 25 years to prevent, treat and raise awareness about trauma due to wars, disasters, and terrorism, and its work has made it world-renowned in the field of treating post-trauma.
The current project was born out of a conversation between Herzog and Zelenska, during which they agreed to collaborate on a joint humanitarian project to bolster mental health and support of those suffering from trauma.
Due to the urgency of the issue, NATAL's Global Unit teamed with experts from the Ukrainian first lady's team immediately.
NATAL's Global Unit is active among educational organizations, health institutions, emergency forces and first responders around the world.
At the end of the training week, both first ladies attended a ceremony, with Herzog present on-site and Zelenska attending via Zoom. Ukraine Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korinchuk also attended the event, as did Founder and Chairperson of NATAL Jude Yovel Recanati, and Chairman of the Jewish Federations of North America Julie Platt via Zoom.
The project was made possible thanks to the generous support from the Charles and Lynn Shusterman Family Philanthropies, which contribute to national and social projects in Israel and the support of the Jewish Federations of North America.
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