IDF offers couples therapy to veterans grappling with PTSD

For the first time, the IDF is reportedly providing therapy for couples in which one partner is grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their military service.

Participants in the program will be offered 17 sessions of therapy at Bar-Ilan University, each lasting 75 minutes, the Walla news site reported Saturday.

“Casualties who are exposed to these kinds of events continue to suffer distress, and many therapeutic interventions are offered but most of them are individual,” Maj. Ravit Rubinstein, an officer in the IDF’s Mental Health Department, told Walla. “They are offered to the individuals who were directly exposed to the traumatic event, but do not take into account the impact of the trauma on family members close to the victim, and also the family’s ability to be a source of support and recovery.”

The pilot program is based on the research of Dr. Candice Monson of Ryerson University in Canada, whose work has found that interpersonal factors, such as social support, can be strong predictors of the level of recovery from trauma.

Monson has developed a three-stage program to help alleviate the symptoms of PTSD. The first stage involves the couple establishing a relationship with a therapist and understanding the impact PTSD can have on a relationship.

That is followed by work to strengthen the relationship between the couple through expression of emotions and learning to solve problems. Finally the couple works together to understand the consequences and impact of the trauma, learn to deal with feelings of guilt, renew physical intimacy, and share responsibilities between them.

In July 2017 the Defense Ministry announced that 4,649 veterans were suffering from PTSD.

PTSD is not limited to those who served in combat positions in military operations — terror attacks, sexual assault, car accidents and illness can also have long-term implications for mental health.