[ACUTE MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS AFTER THE OCTOBER 7 ATTACKS AND THE IRON SWORDS WAR: CASE SERIES].

Abstract

Introduction: On October 7, 2023, terrorist organizations led by Hamas, launched an extensive attack on Israel. Within days following the initial attack, there was a clear need to provide psychological support to individuals who were exposed to the horrors of the October 7 attacks. Hence, the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center opened the "Ichilov Otef Nefesh" clinic to provide psychological first aid to the first-line victims of the war. As the fighting spread, the services were extended to the entire population. The guiding principle of the intervention was that it is crucial in the acute phase after exposure to significant trauma, and its main purpose is to support the natural course of one's recovery processes. This case series describes three representative cases from among the hundreds of people who applied to the clinic. The intervention provided was guided by an integrated approach that promotes introspection and connectedness to one's environment and community, enhancing cognitive functions, emotional regulation and utilizing available resources to reduce distress. The main themes that emerged shifted between feelings of helplessness and a sense of agency; a breach in basic trust and renewed trust, guilt and self-compassion; anger, abandonment and alienation versus solidarity and connecting to the present and the future, despair versus hope and loss versus acceptance and connectedness. In face of these, the therapists endorsed techniques of validation, restoring self-agency, promoting a sense of self-agency and self-compassion, creating a link between the past and present, and finding connection and hope.