Healing the Unseen Wounds

In June a government committee recommended nearly doubling the national budget for wounded and traumatized soldiers, from NIS 5 billion (US $1.6 billion) in 2023 to NIS 10 billion (US $3.2 billion) by 2026—though the committee warned that the need is growing faster than national resources can keep pace.

Emotional trauma made up about 15% of soldiers’ claims in past wars; since 2023, that figure has climbed to nearly 50%, according to the Jerusalem Post.

But this is the Start-Up Nation, a country that transformed the sand dunes of Tel Aviv into a modern metropolis within a century, and it is bringing that same ingenuity to tackle healing its wounded.

Here are three creative Israeli approaches to treating PTSD.

Man’s Best Friend

Several programs pair IDF soldiers and veterans with therapy dogs trained to ease PTSD symptoms like nightmares and panic attacks. The Israeli Guide Dog Center trains dogs to detect rising stress and respond by calming the person during panic attacks, waking them from nightmares, blocking out crowds to create safe space and even standing watch to ease hypervigilance.

Caring for the dogs also gives veterans, in the program’s words, “a renewed sense of purpose, forcing them to get out of bed every morning and out of the house every day, creating a positive routine. This all results in improving clients’ self-image while reducing depression and isolation.” The Center says it’s too early to confirm that dogs can permanently end PTSD nightmares, but has already seen “dramatic results” in interrupting them and reducing the frequency.

Friends of the IDF runs a similar program, reporting improved sleep, reduced depression and less reliance on medication among participants. Israeli nonprofit Belev Echad’s Dogs 4 Soldiers program offers veterans companionship and a new community of fellow dog owners—motivation, the group says, “critical to start living one’s life again.”

Surfing the Wave

HaGal Sheli (“My Wave”) opened a new surf therapy center in Netanya in July, its 12th location nationwide. Founded in 2013 and partnered with the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division since 2020, HaGal Sheli works with at-risk youth, trauma survivors and people with disabilities, using surfing as a “powerful educational, therapeutic and rehabilitative tool for navigating individual and collective crises.” Since October 7, the organization has also focused on survivors from Gaza-border communities, freed hostages and their families and Nova music festival survivors.

Participants learn both the mechanics of surfing and the dynamics of the sea, then translate those lessons onshore through guided reflection, building on what the organization calls adaptability, problem-solving and emotional regulation.

A two-year study of the program’s “Tools from the Waves” curriculum found substantial results: avoidance behaviors dropped 74% (78% in severe cases), negative thoughts and emotions fell 74% (80% in severe cases), intrusive symptoms dropped 67% (73% in severe cases) and hyper-alertness fell 61%.

One participant told the Jerusalem News Syndicate (JNS) that surfing taught him that “you cannot always control what happens around you, but you can learn how to cope, get back up when you fall and try again.”

Co-founder and cognitive-behavioral therapist Omer Tulchinsky told JNS that “the sea creates a unique environment that constantly requires people to move between effort and release, tension and relaxation, and to find stability within uncertainty. Through surfing, participants can experience and practice emotional regulation in a physical and immediate way.”

He added that the unique setting allows participants to confront and overcome challenges and rebuild their confidence, working together in a group setting rather than alone.