A while ago, during my internship at Natal, I was given the opportunity to speak first handedly with one of the psychologists who works for Natal's Stress Hotline. As I have spoken about before, Natal's hotline is a toll free number that anyone can call in times of stress, including wives and children of soldiers, soldiers themselves, or those associated with or affected by terrorist attacks. The woman who I got the opportunity to speak with was Sigal, a very sweet woman with a soft voice and a good sense of humor.
For some reason, I had expected something else. I assumed that a psychologist volunteering to help these people must somehow be stern and blank faced, offering intillectual insight while holding their emotions behind a glass window. Considering the weight of all the stories they hear that must take a toll on their own emotional and psychological health, I couldn't understand how a person who listens to first hand accounts of extreme psychological trauma could be so enjoyable to be around. But Sigal was very even tempered, and her smile assured me that she was doing a good job to help her patients.
Typically when I hear the word hotline, I think a number you call when you are really freaking out, to keep you from doing something dangerous. However, Natal's service is more than that. It is real therapy.
She described the process of treatment to me. By first call, Natal Hotline Psychologists determine the therapy treatment according to the severity of a patient's case. Sometimes, one call is just enough, as a child tries to cope with a father's emotional unavailability and earns the insight to deal with the issue from the call. In order to make sure, Natal calls back the patient to make sure everything is alright, a procedure that make Natal unique. In other cases, patients develop a longer term over-the-phone therapy which can last weeks, months, or even years, in which hotline specialists reciprocate phone calls with the distressed individuals.
Sigal told me that during a difficult time in Israel, such as one of the heights of the second intifada or during increased Gaza rocket fire, calls increase. It can be expected immediately after watching the news. Sometimes even, the hotline hears about the attacks before they make it to the headlines.
PTSD really is a national disease here. A nation who has learned that terrorism is not all that unlikely, and the same goes with war. Sigal told me that she has and still is treating people who still suffer from trauma after many many years from Israel's multitudes of wars. She told me that even a man who fought in Israel's war of independence in 1948 was in treatment.
After he had fought in 1948, and was forced to surrender Jerusalem, he felt ashamed. The Jordanians held him captive for several years as a Prisoner of War, and when he got out he didn't want to deal with the trauma. He left Israel and met a wife in England, and eventually moved back here to Israel in his late adult life. Even as an old man, he found himself dealing with the effects of PTSD, having difficulty dealing with his wife's Parkinson's disease and finds himself screaming at her. So in 2008, 60 YEARS after the war, he finally decided to seek treatment. Since then he has found a new love, and is actually improving--even after so much time.
This brings a bit of light into the society of Israel. It used to be unacceptable to deal with the problems of trauma--it was looked upon as a weakness since the country has constantly dealt with war and terror. But today, when it's finally socially acceptable to deal with you problems, thousands from across the country who have dealt with trauma for a significant portion of their lives are seeking help. It's beautiful. I'm so glad that there is a place that can help.
I can see it. I have been here for nearly seven months now. The culture here seems electric, there is an abundance of music and art, but still the souls seem to be shocked. There is a certain tension here that I can't seem to forget about. Every one is in on this. Israel is still a country with a lot of enemies, with a lot of violence in their history, and a still uncertain future. The stress needs to be relieved. Without a gateway to relieve the pain, Israel is doomed. I truly believe that.
At the end of the interview, I asked Sigal if the burden of all the stories of trauma she hears leaves a psychological toll on her. She told me that she herself had dealt with PTSD as her husband was shot down while flying over Egypt. That helping people deal with their own stress, and her learning about the was PTSD works by treating them, helps give her insight on her own issues.
Truly PTSD is in the blood of Israeli society. For the wounds to heal, Israel as a whole has to heal. Some people have the strength to get through their issues, and many of them are at Natal to help. I am glad to be here to witness it.
For some reason, I had expected something else. I assumed that a psychologist volunteering to help these people must somehow be stern and blank faced, offering intillectual insight while holding their emotions behind a glass window. Considering the weight of all the stories they hear that must take a toll on their own emotional and psychological health, I couldn't understand how a person who listens to first hand accounts of extreme psychological trauma could be so enjoyable to be around. But Sigal was very even tempered, and her smile assured me that she was doing a good job to help her patients.
Typically when I hear the word hotline, I think a number you call when you are really freaking out, to keep you from doing something dangerous. However, Natal's service is more than that. It is real therapy.
She described the process of treatment to me. By first call, Natal Hotline Psychologists determine the therapy treatment according to the severity of a patient's case. Sometimes, one call is just enough, as a child tries to cope with a father's emotional unavailability and earns the insight to deal with the issue from the call. In order to make sure, Natal calls back the patient to make sure everything is alright, a procedure that make Natal unique. In other cases, patients develop a longer term over-the-phone therapy which can last weeks, months, or even years, in which hotline specialists reciprocate phone calls with the distressed individuals.
Sigal told me that during a difficult time in Israel, such as one of the heights of the second intifada or during increased Gaza rocket fire, calls increase. It can be expected immediately after watching the news. Sometimes even, the hotline hears about the attacks before they make it to the headlines.
PTSD really is a national disease here. A nation who has learned that terrorism is not all that unlikely, and the same goes with war. Sigal told me that she has and still is treating people who still suffer from trauma after many many years from Israel's multitudes of wars. She told me that even a man who fought in Israel's war of independence in 1948 was in treatment.
After he had fought in 1948, and was forced to surrender Jerusalem, he felt ashamed. The Jordanians held him captive for several years as a Prisoner of War, and when he got out he didn't want to deal with the trauma. He left Israel and met a wife in England, and eventually moved back here to Israel in his late adult life. Even as an old man, he found himself dealing with the effects of PTSD, having difficulty dealing with his wife's Parkinson's disease and finds himself screaming at her. So in 2008, 60 YEARS after the war, he finally decided to seek treatment. Since then he has found a new love, and is actually improving--even after so much time.
This brings a bit of light into the society of Israel. It used to be unacceptable to deal with the problems of trauma--it was looked upon as a weakness since the country has constantly dealt with war and terror. But today, when it's finally socially acceptable to deal with you problems, thousands from across the country who have dealt with trauma for a significant portion of their lives are seeking help. It's beautiful. I'm so glad that there is a place that can help.
I can see it. I have been here for nearly seven months now. The culture here seems electric, there is an abundance of music and art, but still the souls seem to be shocked. There is a certain tension here that I can't seem to forget about. Every one is in on this. Israel is still a country with a lot of enemies, with a lot of violence in their history, and a still uncertain future. The stress needs to be relieved. Without a gateway to relieve the pain, Israel is doomed. I truly believe that.
At the end of the interview, I asked Sigal if the burden of all the stories of trauma she hears leaves a psychological toll on her. She told me that she herself had dealt with PTSD as her husband was shot down while flying over Egypt. That helping people deal with their own stress, and her learning about the was PTSD works by treating them, helps give her insight on her own issues.
Truly PTSD is in the blood of Israeli society. For the wounds to heal, Israel as a whole has to heal. Some people have the strength to get through their issues, and many of them are at Natal to help. I am glad to be here to witness it.
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