A first-of-its-kind national mental health and resilience center for active-duty and reserve soldiers will be established in Netanya, in a historic agreement between the Defense Ministry, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) in the US, and the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers (AWIS).
The center will be built on the site of the existing AWIS facility ‘Beit Feldman,’ but not before undergoing a massive renovation and expansion.
In a statement released by FIDF, “The IDF National Center for Mental Health and Resilience in Netanya will be a dedicated facility for soldiers. It will also house the Research and Development Center and Commander Training Center”
According to a post on the Defense Ministry’s Facebook page, the center will focus on providing comprehensive mental health services to IDF soldiers, with the main purpose being to provide soldiers with tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment that will enable them to return to active duty if and where possible - with the goal being to enable soldiers to go forward and live a healthy lifestyle after discharge.
What will be included
The center will provide a variety of services, including a Research and Development Center, focused on mental health research; and the Commanders Training Center on Immunity and Mental Health, which will provide IDF commanders with guidance on PTSD prevention, detection, and treatment.
In addition, the center will provide workshops for the senior command, aiming to strengthen the infrastructure of the IDF.
Professional therapists will provide mental health services to internal and external patients in a number of ways, including individual psychotherapy, group therapy, sports therapy, physical rehabilitation and hydrotherapy, as well as a training center where therapists will be trained and given tools for effective trauma treatment.
“The establishment of the National Center for Mental Health in Netanya will allow holistic treatment for victims of post-trauma from the Iron Sword War,” Deputy General Manager and Head of Planning Division at the Defense Ministry, Itamar Graf, said.
Thanks to a $40 million investment donated by the Friends of the IDF in the United States, the new center will be operated by the mental health and behavioral sciences program in the IDF, along with Association for the Soldier.
The Centre is part of a larger initiative by the FIDF to provide solutions to the growing need for mental health services in the post-October 7 world.
"This historic partnership marks a new era in the care and support of our soldiers," Murray Levovitz, Chairman of the Friends of the IDF in the United States (FIDF), said. “We’re proud to partner with the Department of Defense and the Association for the Soldier in creating a world-class center that will provide our soldiers with the support they need for healing and growth. "
From Personal to National
This initiative comes after the "Mental Health: From Personal to National" conference headed by the Israeli mental health association Enosh, where senior health officials came together to pledge additional support for mental health efforts in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, including an announcement from Health Minister Uriel Busso that the budget for mental health support will be doubling to an astounding 600 million shekels in 2025.