The key to tackling our national mental health emergency

Since the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War, the Ministry of Health has concentrated significant efforts on promoting resilience and mental health. These efforts include establishing a dedicated hotline for psychological support, expanding mental health services within communities and in hospitals, and increasing salaries for psychologists and psychiatrists through new public wage agreements.
However, the ongoing war has created an enormous gap between the mental health needs of the public and the available responses. While many of us are grappling with trauma, anxiety, and depression, the public mental health system is struggling to cope with the demand for services.
It’s important to understand the background: Throughout Israel’s existence, national investment in mental health and resilience has been relatively low compared to Western countries. For example, Israel had invested only 5.8% of its national health budget in mental health, compared to an average of 11% in OECD countries.
Since the war’s onset, the philanthropic community and civil society have mobilized to provide immediate responses to the best of their abilities. The number of patients treated in support centers, treatment organizations, and resilience centers has increased by hundreds of percent. It’s clear to all that these organizations are doing sacred work and saving many souls.
Nevertheless, tens of thousands still remain without support. Waiting times for mental health treatment extend for months. The longest war in our history has turned Israeli society into a broken society.
The circles of those affected are vast. Thousands were directly impacted by the October 7 attack. Family members and rescue and security forces were exposed in real-time to the horrific outcomes of severe injuries all around. Soldiers have been on the front lines for a full year, with their families torn with worry from afar. Entire communities live under constant alerts and sirens, hundreds of thousands have been evacuated from their homes, and many have also lost their livelihoods and plunged into economic crisis. Children, youth, toddlers, and the elderly are just some of the particularly vulnerable populations that need support and guidance in order to restore mental resilience in their lives.
The ongoing psychological trauma and acute psychological effects caused by the war require a different systemic approach. Public assistance is divided between the health system, social services, and the Ministry of Education. Local authorities play some part in establishing community resilience and providing various mental health responses. The fragmentation between these various systems leads to a deterioration in the quality of service and in the continuity of care and is also inefficient, resulting in a loss of resources.
To enable recovery from the current state of national trauma, a significant, multi-faceted increase in state-provided responses must be applied. There is a need for coordination and synchronization between the activities of different systems. There is also a need for central collection of information in order to obtain a broad picture of the needs and their urgency, define the division of labor between different bodies, set common goals, and pool resources and collaborations between them.
With its accumulated knowledge and expertise, Israeli civil society has an important role to play in this context. Organizations operating in the fields of mental health, welfare, community, and education can and should assist the state in improving existing responses by pointing out and highlighting the needs that arise from the field.
Civil society organizations are currently at the forefront of dealing with national trauma. They are intimately familiar with the needs and know what additional responses are required. They also have the experience and agility to quickly develop innovative solutions.
The real power lies in unity. When many organizations unite around a shared vision, their voice is heard more strongly. They can formulate concrete shared goals in areas that are currently not the focus of attention or that receive sub-optimal systemic solutions, but where change in policy can bring support to hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Together, organizations can introduce new models or innovative working methods and present them to decision-makers. Joint organization will also allow for efficient use of limited resources and prevent unnecessary redundancy.
This is a historic opportunity to create a broad alignment of civil society organizations, that will support state efforts and lead a national effort to strengthen the resilience and mental health so needed by us all. The challenge is enormous, but the potential is even greater. Proper organization of civil society can lead to a transformative revolution, offering psychological support and strengthening the mental resilience of every citizen.
The path will not be easy. There will be bureaucratic obstacles, ego battles, and funding difficulties. But if we succeed in uniting around a common goal, we can bring about historic change. This is not just an opportunity, it is our moral duty to future generations.
Ultimately, the responsibility lies with all of us – civil society and government alike. The time has come for civil society to take a more active part in shaping policy. In cooperation with the government, we can build an effective support system that will ensure the resilience and mental health of the public and a positive future for the State of Israel.