With the support of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Mashiv Haruach runs retreat-style workshops where participants can discuss and reflect on their experiences in a comfortable environment. After the attack: WHO helps Israeli rescuers cope with psychological trauma Healthcare
Just over a year ago, in October 2023, Israel experienced a terrible terrorist attack. Residents of the country, especially all those who helped the victims, are still experiencing the consequences of the mental trauma they received. On World Mental Health Day, which is celebrated on October 10, we present to your attention the material prepared by our colleagues from the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Ambulance drivers, medical personnel at hospitals where the wounded were arriving, and those who provided first aid to the victims directly at the scene of the events witnessed the terrible scenes. No less a strong impression was made by what they saw on those who later helped identify the bodies and prepare the dead for burial.
Mashiv Haruach (Return of the Spirit) provides psychological and psychiatric support to frontline workers to help them overcome the effects of collective trauma. With the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, Mashiv Haruach runs retreats where participants can discuss and process their experiences in a comfortable environment, build resilience, and develop coping mechanisms that will help them move on and support their colleagues.
Helping Those Who Help
After the attacks, Eyal Kravitz, founder and executive director of Mashiv Haruach, watched videos of people helping victims in unimaginably difficult circumstances. “I thought that those who provided first aid or otherwise worked with victims themselves needed support,” he says. “I decided to create a civilian aid group.”
Together with co-founder Daniel Shermon and others, Kravitz developed a plan of action. “In the days after the attacks, a lot of people offered to help,” recalls Daniel Shermon. “And we thought, ‘Who’s helping them?’”
In the days after the attacks, a lot of people offered to help. And we thought, ‘Who’s helping them?’?”
Psychologist Vered Atzmon Meshulam, another co-founder of Mashiv Haruach and its director of professional activities, is one of those providing such assistance. Immediately after the October 7 attacks, she signed up to volunteer to support grief-stricken people who had to identify the bodies of their loved ones.
During this very difficult psychological work, Atzmon interacted extensively with volunteers from search and rescue organizations, who were among the first to arrive at the sites of attacks. The experience had taken a heavy toll on their psyche, causing them to develop mental health problems such as insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, which also spread to their loved ones and colleagues. However, in the chaos of the first months after the attacks, there were no organizations in the country that could support these people.
The Mashiv Haruach organization filled this gap by launching a program of seminars developed by Atzmon Meshulam. The seminars are held in the format of a retreat in the desert, far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Participants in group sessions talk about their experiences and get to know each other. Such networks of contacts, very important for mutual support, continue after the retreat ends.
One of the symptoms of psychological trauma is that a person finds himself in almost complete isolation. It seems to these people that no one can understand what they have been through,” says Atzmon Meshulam.
The organization works with the wives of wounded soldiers, volunteers who were among the first to provide assistance to the victims, and the staff of the Moshe Soroka Medical Center, where the wounded were brought.
Overcoming the Consequences of Psychological Trauma Together
The attacks of October 7, 2023 left deep wounds in the souls of Israelis. Many felt – and still feel – that they would never be able to live a normal life or feel safe again. In the first months after the attacks, many volunteers did not want to talk about what they had seen.
“At first, no one felt they needed to talk to anyone about what they had experienced,” says Daniel Shermon. “At first, it was hard to convince these people to come to us, but then they started telling their colleagues about the benefits of the retreats.”
Learning to Share Your Experiences
Oz Tal has been volunteering with a search-and-rescue NGO for many years. He has taken part in search-and-rescue operations after attacks and even came under fire while helping to retrieve bodies at the Nova Festival.
The workshops, he says, have taught him how to describe and express his feelings. Sharing his experiences with others has helped him overcome the effects of psychological trauma. He highly recommends his colleagues to attend the retreat.
“Most volunteers respond by saying that they are fine, that they don’t need anything,” Oz Tal shares. “They don’t want to go anywhere. But then, during the workshop, when we start talking about our feelings, someone starts talking about problems, and then the whole group joins in. You can’t imagine the atmosphere in the room at that moment!”
When we start talking about our feelings, someone starts talking about problems, and then the whole group joins in. You can’t imagine the atmosphere in the room at that moment!
The workshop program includes sessions designed to help participants make sense of their traumatic experiences, develop coping mechanisms, and learn to talk about their experiences.
“Therapists work with the volunteers, helping them understand what meaning they want to give to their story, because history is reality,” says Atzmon Meshulam. “You can’t change anything about it, throw out all the terrible things from it. But you can talk to yourself differently about what you had to go through.”
According to her, after the workshops, people calm down a little. “I once received a message from the wife of one of the volunteers who attended our workshops. She wrote that her husband returned from the retreat a completely different person, that for the first time since October 7, he slept peacefully all night,” Meshulam recalls.
The organization now holds retreats for the partners of affected employees and volunteers, seeking to create a wider support network.
One of the retreat participants is Hodaya Leshem, a mother of four and the wife of a wounded soldier. “Before I started going to these meetings, I had no support. I had my whole family, my whole community, but I had no one to support me,” she says.
Building Resilience to Stress
Most of those wounded in the October 7 attacks were admitted to the Moshe Soroka Medical Center, 40 km outside Gaza. In the first 16 hours, about 680 patients were admitted to the emergency room, 120 of whom were seriously injured.
Many of the medical center’s staff had lost loved ones or lived in the areas that were attacked. The victims of the attack were two doctors and two retired nurses.
Moshe Soroka Medical Center’s Deputy CEO and Director of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Dan Schwartzfuchs, knew he needed to find a way for his employees to start discussing their experiences.
“These are strong people,” he says. “You can’t survive in this line of work any other way. But what they’ve been through has changed their lives. Deep down, I knew I had to find a way for them to cope.”
“Every employee has a story,” Schwartzfuchs continues. “Therapy makes them stronger, and what they’ve been through has brought us closer together. Coworkers who used to be reluctant to talk about their own experiences now open up when they hear stories from others. Even those who I didn’t expect to see there came to the meetings.”
Colleagues who previously did not want to talk about their experiences now join in the conversation when they hear the stories of others. Even people I did not expect to see there came to the meetings
Ayelet Harris is the head of the community outreach department at the Kibbutz Movement. After the attacks, she actively helped the families of kibbutz residents, many of whom lost loved ones or were forced to evacuate.
“For the first time, we – all of us who helped people affected by the attacks – could express what was in our hearts. Our energy was always directed outward, toward helping people, being there for them,” she says. “At the retreat, I felt a surge of strength for the first time, because I and my needs were suddenly the center of attention. I felt comfortable talking about what I was going through, and I had people around me who were willing to listen. I could just be myself. It gave me strength.”
A Year Later: Taking Stock
Since January 2024, almost a thousand people have taken part in the seminars organized by Mashiv Haruach. “Every participant in our retreats comes here not only for themselves. These people become our ambassadors, each of them providing support to another 30-40 people – colleagues and neighbors,” says Eyal Kravitz.
Dr. Schwartzfuchs decided to mark the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks at his workplace, the Moshe Soroka Medical Center: “At first, I wanted to stay home, alone with the memories. But I know that some of those we helped that day will want to come back to psychologically close the circle. So I decided to go where I will be with these people and with my co-workers.”
He believes that after a year, people will be more willing to talk about their experiences. “In the beginning, people were faced with a choice – fight or flight. You just close yourself off, you want to be in control. But I think that as time goes on, more and more people will be willing to talk,” he notes.
Daniel Shermon understands that people who help others are themselves in great need of psychosocial support: “We did not create Mashiv Haruach in the best of circumstances. But our organization is needed by people, and will be needed for many years to come.”
“With the support of the WHO, we were able to reach more people with our help. We are proud that our initiative is the only project in Israel to support psychological resilience that has received recognition from the WHO, thanks to a recommendation from the Ministry of Health. “This partnership is truly invaluable, and I would like to express our deep appreciation to WHO,” he continued.
WHO’s mission is to support health workers and civilians in need, whoever they are and wherever they are. In addition to Mashiv Haruach, WHO is also supporting the Israeli NGO Mosaic. It is developing an initiative that will leverage the influence of religious leaders – from both the Jewish and Muslim communities – to help people access the mental health services they need, make these services more acceptable, and reduce the stigma associated with seeking them.