In this meeting, we will discuss the unique way in which group therapy has healing power for people who have experienced trauma, in general, and trauma following war, in particular. One of the most difficult effects of trauma is its divisive power. It is a double divisiveness: a divisiveness between the person and themselves, and a divisiveness between the person and others. This divisiveness has malignant and dangerous effects, which are expressed in a wide variety of distresses and symptoms. Group therapy, therefore, has the potential to deal with this divisive power.

In the chapter "From 'Brothering' the Fragments: The Therapeutic Power of a Group in the Shadow of Collective Trauma," which they wrote for the book "From the Fragments: Trauma, Coping, and Hope," Naama Greenwald, Ella Stolfer, and Dr. Efrat Ziegenlaub present the variety of unique contributions of group therapy in times when, as they put it: "people are looking for eyes and hearts that have had experiences similar to their own." The special qualities of this therapy include, among other things, the sense of partnership, the ability of participants to observe themselves through the eyes of others, the restoration of continuity and coherence, the return to a sense of belonging to the group and community, and the acceptance of recognition and "fraternal testimony" to each other's difficulties and pain.

This evening, we will look together, "with our eyes and hearts," with the help of Naama, Ella, and Efrat, at these various contributions, the way they operate today in the therapeutic community and in Israeli society, and the ways in which they can contribute to the profound dealing with the many difficulties that await us in the period ahead.

About the participants:

Naama Greenold - Clinical psychologist and group analyst. Engaged in psychotherapy, group facilitation and organizational consulting. Lecturer and instructor at Ogen, a psychotherapy program at the Mifarashim Institute at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College. Co-founder of the Jubilee Program for group psychotherapy with an integrative approach at the Mifarashim Institute. Faculty member at the Institute for Group Analysis.

Ms. Ella Stolper - Group analyst, psychotherapist, senior instructor. Faculty member at Tel Aviv University and the Institute for Group Analysis. Founder and director of the Institute for Group Analysis in Russia. Director of the Regroup Group Center. Board member of the Israeli Association for Group Guidance and Therapy, executive coach, organizational consultant and owner of a private clinic. Faculty member in the Jubilee Program for Integrative Group Psychotherapy at the Mifarashim Institute at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College.

Dr. Efrat Zigenlaub - expert social-organizational psychologist and group analyst, head of the Jubilee Program for group psychotherapy with an integrative approach at the Mifarashim Institute, senior lecturer at the Ono Academic Center and faculty member in the two-year group facilitation program at Tel Aviv University. Individual and group therapist in a private clinic in Modi'in. Trains and guides group therapists in various organizations, such as Meuhedet, the Ministry of Defense, and more.