Post-Traumatic Stress Care in Israel Faces Surge in Unregulated Organizations and Calls for Oversight
Since the October 7 conflict, Israel has seen a rapid increase in organizations offering post-trauma treatment, leading to concerns over unregulated and potentially harmful care. The "Back to the Track" forum, which includes over 50 treatment organizations and veteran associations and is coordinated by the NATAL Trauma Center, warns that many groups provide either unprofessional or unsupervised treatment, sometimes causing harm to patients. The forum urges government ministries to establish clear criteria for who may diagnose and treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with standardized diagnostic and treatment protocols.
The prevalence of PTSD symptoms in Israel has nearly doubled since the war, rising from 16.2% to 29.8% of the population, compared to a global average of 3.9%. Conservative estimates suggest around 625,000 Israelis suffer from PTSD, with 80,000 at high risk of losing their jobs due to the condition. The proliferation of organizations is evident, with 215 new nonprofits registered since 2023 targeting trauma-affected soldiers and veterans, and about 400 active groups overall. However, only 60 have received proper management approval.
Many new groups lack professional oversight, especially in alternative therapies such as trauma-aware yoga, acupuncture, therapeutic gardening, and animal-assisted therapy. The absence of professional supervision during activities poses serious risks, including during flashbacks or trauma episodes. Additionally, there is often no follow-up care after intense therapeutic experiences, which can worsen patients' conditions. Forum leaders highlight that some patients deteriorate after attending workshops and end up in therapeutic residential care, which they had not needed before.
Concerns also extend to unqualified group facilitators and therapists who lack trauma-specific training, despite holding general psychology or social work degrees. This gap in expertise can lead to ineffective or harmful interventions. Furthermore, vocational training and job placement services for PTSD sufferers often proceed without adequate psychological support, sometimes resulting in tragic outcomes such as suicides or job losses due to unaddressed trauma symptoms.
The forum calls for a regulatory framework similar to those in the US, France, and Australia, defining treatment boundaries, required qualifications, ongoing supervision, ethical standards, privacy protections, and crisis response capabilities. They have developed self-assessment tools for organizations and recommend transparent government criteria to help patients and families choose appropriate care. The Ministry of Health states it licenses mental health professionals but does not oversee private or nonprofit organizations, advising the public to verify practitioners' credentials. The Ministry of Defense confirms that its rehabilitation services for IDF casualties are regulated and supervised accordingly.
