From Rescue to Return:
Principles for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Kidnapping Victims in All Circles Currently

On October 7, 251 people were kidnapped. The journey to return them all took more than two years, and it is still not over. Some of the returnees were returned alive, some dead; some were rescued in a military operation, and some in a deal. There is no doubt that we are currently at a crossroads. At this crossroads, when most of the living and dead abductees have been returned, all parties – the families, the communities, and the public, along with the bodies providing care, mental health professionals, social services, medical professionals, the health system, and the military systems – are required to “recalculate the route.”

In the midst of this transitional phase, we would like to ask: What is happening now? What is needed right now in all aspects related to the rehabilitation of the abductees and their families? This evening's discussion will offer a look at the processes currently taking place and the dilemmas that characterize the current situation.

Order of speakers:

Dr. Einat Yahna - will present the psychological aspects and processes that occur after return in the four circles of harm: the abductees themselves, their families, the communities, and the general public.

Prof. Hagai Levin - will speak about the trauma of kidnapping as a public health crisis and the implications for treatment and policy after return.

Dr. Ronit Shalev - will talk about the process that the officers who accompany the families go through when they remove their uniforms and transition to civilian-professional escort.

Ms. Hedva Halabtz - will present the activities of the National Insurance Center for Families of Abductees and Returnees, and will speak about the current needs and challenges facing families and professionals.

About the speakers and moderators:

Dr. Einat Yahana is a rehabilitation psychologist-instructor and clinical neuropsychologist. Senior lecturer at the School of Behavioral Sciences at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic University and director of "Namal Mivtachim" at the Mifarashim Institute. For the past two years, she has served as head of the rehabilitation department in the health system of the Abductees' Families Headquarters. She has extensive clinical experience in treating trauma, bereavement, loss and change (Lewinstein Hospital, Sheba, and NYUMC) and a private clinic. She researches adaptation to life-altering events.

Prof. Hagai Levin , Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health of the Hebrew University and Hadassah, Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians in Israel. He founded and for the past two years has headed the health system of the Abductees' Families Headquarters.

Dr. Ronit Shalio is the head of the Department of Education and Educational Counseling at Emek Jezreel Academic College and a mind-body therapist at the Child and Youth Mental Health Clinic at HaEmek Hospital. She serves as a resilience officer in the casualty unit (captives and missing persons), and has been involved in accompanying the officers of the family of the abductees who died.

Ms. Hedva Halabtz is a social worker, and holds a master's degree in family therapy and a master's degree in public policy. She is the director of the rehabilitation department at the National Insurance Institute.

Prof. Sharon Ziv Beiman is a clinical psychologist-instructor, faculty member and director of the "Nafrashim Institute for Psychotherapy Research and Teaching" at the School of Behavioral Sciences at Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College. Editor of the research section of the journal "Sichot". Active in the International Association for the Advancement of Integration in Psychotherapy, the Israeli Forum for Psychoanalysis and Relational Psychotherapy, and the Israeli Group for Research in Psychotherapy.