{"id":111436,"date":"2024-04-07T17:05:14","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T15:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=111436"},"modified":"2024-04-03T12:11:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T10:11:58","slug":"15-00-91","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=111436","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s Mental Health Tsunami"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Israel\u2019s Mental Health Tsunami<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

HILLEL KUTTLER<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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In the aftermath of the Hamas massacre, rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD are climbing fast, even for those who weren\u2019t directly affected. People who experienced earlier traumas\u2014particularly sexual assault\u2014find themselves newly triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

DAN KITWOOD\/GETTY IMAGES<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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The question I asked Mor Peretz to open our recent phone interview was a standard ice-breaker: \u201cWhere do you live?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Her response was jarring: \u201cNow, I\u2019m not living.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s because, Peretz explained, \u201cafter what happened\u201d\u2014surviving Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 murder of 360 people at the Nova music festival, where she helped run a food stand\u2014she couldn\u2019t function in her job working for a clothing designer and went on unpaid leave. That led to Peretz losing her apartment in Netanya and moving in with a friend.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Little by little, Peretz is recovering, including through weekly therapy sessions with a psychologist at the Lev Hasharon Mental Health Center, near Netanya.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cShe gives me homework, and I do it because I want to help myself,\u201d Peretz said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Peretz, 54, is hardly alone as an Israeli dealing with emotional challenges related to the Oct. 7 massacre, when Hamas terrorists invaded the western Negev, murdered 1,200 people throughout the region, and kidnapped 250 more.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s trauma upon trauma, hardship upon hardship.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cWe are facing a mental health tsunami because there\u2019s such a big increase in mental health needs, and the Israeli mental health system was neglected for so many years,\u201d said Inbal Brenner, a psychiatrist at Lev Hasharon.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the month following the attacks, Israel\u2019s leading health maintenance organizations (HMOs) reported record levels of requests by patients for sleeping pills, painkillers, and tranquilizers.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On March 6, Tel Aviv\u2019s Ichilov Hospital opened a department for treating trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by civilians and soldiers. At the dedication ceremony that day, President Isaac Herzog said that the department grew out of \u201cthe terrible fracture that cut us\u201d on Oct. 7. \u201cWe well understand, today more than ever, that the acute need to strengthen and perfect Israel\u2019s mental health system must stand atop the national list of priorities in the long years of rehabilitation ahead of us,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A statistical model appearing in late February in medRxiv<\/em>, a medical journal of unpublished manuscripts, predicts that 5.3% of Israelis, or more than 520,000 people, will develop PTSD tied to Oct. 7 and Israel\u2019s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And a study published in January in the journal eClinicalMedicine <\/em>found that the massacre has had \u201ca broad and significant impact \u2026 on the mental health of the Israeli population\u201d\u2014not only those who survived the rampage\u2014and that the findings \u201cunderscore the need to provide rapid, nationwide assessments and triage for interventions.\u201d The study surveyed the same 710 Israeli adults approximately six weeks before and six weeks after the massacre. (The first survey was conducted to understand Israelis\u2019 mental health connected to stress over the judicial-reform crisis. After the war broke out, the researchers decided to survey the same respondents in the new context.) The researchers concluded that the prevalence of PTSD doubled, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) increased 18%, and depression increased 13.5%. Thirty-eight percent thought about committing suicide, although it\u2019s unclear whether Israel\u2019s suicide rate has changed, said Yossi Levi-Belz, the study\u2019s co-author and a professor of psychology who chairs the Ruppin Academic Center\u2019s department of suicide and mental health studies.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal (to his right), at the March 6 dedication ceremony of Ichilov Hospital\u2019s new department for treating trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by civilians and soldiers \/ JENNY YERUSHALMI<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Only 30 of the study\u2019s 710 participants experienced the attacks directly, while 131 had loved ones murdered, kidnapped, or wounded. The increases in PTSD, GAD, and depression even in Israelis more removed from the trauma is attributable to people\u2019s fears of another Oct. 7 in such a small country and their sense of betrayal by the political and military systems tasked with protecting civilians, Levi-Belz said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mental health professionals interviewed for this article unanimously stated that Israel\u2019s mental health system had been woefully underfunded and on the verge of collapse before the attacks. Post-Oct. 7, a reassessment is in order, they said, as is a dramatic increase in funding for the higher demand for mental health services covered by the universal system of HMOs.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The 2024-25 budget, which the Knesset hasn\u2019t yet passed, contains an increase of nearly 1.4 billion shekels ($392.2 million) for mental health services provided on an outpatient basis by HMOs and public hospitals, a 70% jump from the 2023-24 figure of 2 billion shekels ($560.2 million), said psychiatrist Gilad Bodenheimer, the ministry\u2019s director of mental health services.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Proposed improvements Bodenheimer mentioned in an interview with Tablet include doubling the 2,500 social workers now in the public health system, expanding community-based mental health services, and expanding local centers for strengthening the resilience of traumatized citizens. The current system lacks sufficient numbers of psychiatrists and psychologists, he said, adding that salaries need to be increased for them, social workers, occupational therapists who work within the mental health system, and art therapists.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bodenheimer called the mental health system in Israel \u201cpoor,\u201d but said it\u2019s improved since HMOs began offering services in 2015, and again in 2020 during the coronavirus crisis, when Israeli officials realized that \u201cmental health is not something affecting a small part of the population,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe understanding of the need was there, but the budget wasn\u2019t enough. Then the 7th of October came. Of course, the need for mental health support was obvious,\u201d Bodenheimer said. \u201cThis serious change is more needed now, of course, because of the 7th of October. We started rethinking the structure of mental health services.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ask mental health professionals why more Israelis require mental health treatment despite not directly experiencing the Oct. 7 attacks, and one verb consistently emerges, stated in English within conversations otherwise held in Hebrew: \u201ctriggering.\u201d By triggering, they mean that Hamas\u2019 rampage exacerbated, even revived, one\u2019s emotional pain from previous traumas\u2014including rape.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s the case in the clinic the Lev Hasharon hospital set up post-Oct. 7 to provide therapy for those who endured sexual trauma at the Nova festival. But none of the clinic\u2019s current 25 or so patients were raped, or witnessed rape, by Hamas that day; they are survivors of trauma, including sexual trauma, prior to the Hamas attack.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cFor sexual-trauma survivors, [Oct. 7] is very triggering,\u201d said Brenner, the director of Lev Hasharon\u2019s sexual-trauma clinic, which is known as the Nova Anchor.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gilad Bodenheimer<\/em><\/span>
\nSHLOMI AMSALEM\/GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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A report called \u201c<\/em>Silent Cry: Sexual Crimes in the October 7 War,\u201d published on Feb. 21 by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers of Israel, covered testimonies and evidence related to four locations where rape and genital mutilation were perpetrated against men and women: the Nova festival, Gaza-area communities, Israel Defense Forces bases, and places in the Gaza Strip where Hamas brought those it kidnapped from Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For Hamas, \u201csexual abuse was not an isolated incident or sporadic cases but rather a clear operational strategy,\u201d it stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Orit Sulitzeanu, the association\u2019s chief executive officer, said that many who call and receive care \u201care undergoing triggering due to Oct. 7.\u201d She\u2019s spoken with first responders and others in emotional distress from witnessing the victims of Hamas\u2019 sexual assaults: police officers, paramedics, soldiers, those retrieving body parts, and forensics investigators.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhoever is resilient is resilient. Whoever isn\u2019t, it\u2019s very hard. Someone with trauma in the past will be triggered by what happened,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Levi-Belz said that some of his other findings have not been published. For example, he and his co-authors determined that since Oct. 7, twice as many Israeli women than men feel fearful, which he attributed to news reports of the sexual crimes perpetrated that day.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He mentioned, too, a former patient of his who, in the aftermath of Oct. 7, returned to treatment to discuss his son\u2019s suicide five years ago\u2014pain that he told Levi-Belz Hamas\u2019 massacre triggered.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s trauma upon trauma, hardship upon hardship,\u201d Levi-Belz said. \u201cI have many patients for whom the fear increases. They finished treatment a year or two ago, returned to functioning, and now are back in treatment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Peretz, the Nova survivor, is open to treatment options, all of which she prefers to medication. She\u2019s been to several retreats in Israel to commiserate with fellow Nova survivors. This month, along with her one-on-one sessions, she\u2019ll begin group therapy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI feel safe with these people. They smile, embrace, are empathetic, and try to help,\u201d she said of Lev Hasharon\u2019s staff. \u201cIt\u2019s not fun. It\u2019s really not. It\u2019s heavy and it hurts. It\u2019s a process. To be in psychological care is hard, but it\u2019s meant to help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hillel Kuttler,<\/strong> a writer and editor, can be reached at hk@HillelTheScribeCommunications.com.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Israel\u2019s Mental Health Tsunami HILLEL KUTTLER In the aftermath of the Hamas massacre, rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD are climbing fast, even for those who weren\u2019t directly affected. People who experienced earlier traumas\u2014particularly sexual assault\u2014find themselves newly triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks. DAN KITWOOD\/GETTY IMAGES The question I asked Mor Peretz to open […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111436"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111519,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111436\/revisions\/111519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}