\nThe committee addressed a long-overdue and sensitive issue that many have historically hesitated to confront. \u201cWe treat this as we would any physical injury,\u201d Stern emphasized. \u201cThese are our best and brightest, and they carry this burden\u2014along with their families\u2014long after they\u2019ve served.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Ministry Program Offers Early PTSD Screening<\/strong> Each eligible participant receives up to 12 free therapy sessions, access to alternative therapies, and group support. Launched in December 2024, the program has been downloaded by 218 out of roughly 300,000 reservists. Funded with 100 million shekels, only 30% of the budget has been utilized thus far.<\/p>\n According to Sitbon, 17,000 new cases have been registered since the war began\u201410,000 physical injuries and 7,300 psychological. Of those, 2,300 suffer from both.<\/p>\n Reservist Commander: \u201cTwo Nights in a Hotel Isn\u2019t Enough\u201d<\/strong> He criticized superficial recovery programs: \u201cA couple of nights at a hotel is nice\u2014but it\u2019s not real help. These are the best people in the country. They want to come out of this stronger. I\u2019m asking: where\u2019s the deep treatment? Weekly 45-minute sessions aren\u2019t enough. We need intensive, week-long therapeutic capsules to prevent trauma from becoming PTSD.\u201d<\/p>\n No Greater Value Than What\u2019s Around This Table<\/strong> Commanders, officials call for deep reform in PTSD support systems: \u201cWe must treat this like any other injury.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":23001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,77],"tags":[5618,5617,5616,2551],"class_list":["post-23000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-idf","tag-elazar-stern","tag-knesset-hearings","tag-mental-health","tag-reservists"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nHagit Oren-Most, head of the Resilience and Prevention Division at the Ministry of Defense, introduced a new initiative: Project Amit. Developed to proactively reduce post-traumatic stress, the program is offered to all reservists and includes an app-based self-assessment tool. If the system flags warning signs, the reservist is referred for treatment.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ptsd-2.webp\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nBroader Scope for Wounded Veterans<\/strong>
\nLt. Col. Inbar Sitbon, head of the Department for the Wounded and Disabled, explained the unit was established in direct response to the current war. \u201cOur goal is to expand the scope of responsibility\u2014not just for those injured physically, but for those suffering psychologically and officially recognized as disabled veterans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\nRaziel Barbi, a reserve company commander, described the toll on his soldiers after witnessing the collapse of buildings that killed 21 troops from his unit. \u201cWhen I ordered my men to collect body parts\u2014without even bags\u2014it was an operational order with devastating psychological consequences,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a commander, it\u2019s also my job to make sure they recover. Just as we lead them into battle, we need to guide them down a path of mental healing once they return.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ptsd-3.webp\")
\nChairman Stern concluded the session with a powerful statement: \u201cThere is no value more sacred than what we\u2019ve heard around this table. If only the draft law discussions sounded like this\u2014acknowledging the weight of service and the state\u2019s responsibility to those who bear it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"