The Coalition Worldwide

In November 2013, a non-violent protest was held against the Ukrainian government, but by February 2014 it escalated into violent clashes between demonstrators and police, leaving more than 80 people dead and over 1,000 injured.​

In partnership with JDC Israel and with the support of the Jewish Federation of Chicago and JDC Israel, seven delegations were dispatched to Ukraine between 2014 and 2015. These delegations were composed of representatives from Coalition organizations, including the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma, SELA, ERAN, NATAL, and AMCHA. Each delegation trained groups of local volunteers and professionals to provide care for citizens exposed to ongoing stress. Every workshop also dedicated time to equipping participants with tools and resources for self-care. In collaboration with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the World Bank, resilience centers were established in Ukraine.​

During the current war in Ukraine, the Coalition has so far trained 4,000 Ukrainian therapists in psychosocial team-based skills. In addition, it continues to work with the relevant authorities to strengthen the country’s capacity to provide effective responses.​

In March 2011, a powerful earthquake struck Japan, causing extensive damage to three nuclear reactors. Over 15,000 people were killed, thousands were injured and the entire local population faced loss, trauma and anxiety.
In collaboration with JDC, trauma and resilience experts from the ITC, CSPC and AMCHA were sent to provide support to hundreds of professionals and volunteers who worked tirelessly with the victims in the affected areas. The programs that were implemented between 2011-2014 encompassed the ability to identify and treat trauma, designed tools for developing feelings of competence and hope, and provided training for self-care. As part of the programs, a thousand experts were trained, seventy of whom became instructors who continue to teach these skills.

The terrorist attack in the 'Hyper Kosher supermarket', in 2015, shocked the Jewish community in France and made it unequivocally clear that an increase in the level of emergency preparedness and response was required.
In collaboration with JDC, the UJA Federation of New York, the ITC CEO, Talia Levanon, met with leaders from three Jewish welfare organizations to discuss needs and solutions. The result of this visit was the decision to collaborate with OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants) in training psychologists and French clinicians to create trauma intervention programs, establish a resilience center in Paris and to define roles in routine and emergency. Teams from ITC trained 80 doctors and 15 psychologists, and established a local resilience center.

Jordan shares a border with Syria, where there is an ongoing crisis. The civil war in Syria, which began in March 2011, led to the flight of over 30 million refugees, over a million and a half of whom fled to Jordan.
The Jordanian organizations provided the refugees with humane living conditions, emphasizing the provision of food, medical care and educational frameworks for children. Medical teams were treating over 250 traumatized refugees per day, exposed to the risk of burnout.
In collaboration with the Jewish Coalition for Syrian Refugees in Jordan, the Israel Trauma Coalition entered into a contract with a local association helping refugees and training Jordanian therapists, both in Jordan and in Israel, on psycho trauma issues, providing professional tools to deal with stress, anxiety and grief and self-care.
Within this framework, three training programs were held, one in Jordan and two in Israel, by AMCHA, Natal, CSPC, Mahut Israel, and ERAN.

In November 2013, Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines. The most powerful storm in history resulted in the death of over 6,300 residents and damage to over 1.4 million families. In cooperation with JDC, a delegation consisting of professionals and volunteers went to the island of Cebu and the nearby area, to train Filipino teams to provide assistance to the community in dealing with emergency situations and to prevent burnout. Psychosocial training sessions were held for several organizations, relating to basic psychosocial concepts and increasing community preparedness for emergencies.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015 changed the face of Nepal and led to the death of 9,000 people, the injury of over 23,000 and physical and psychological damage to the lives of over 8 million people. A delegation of ITC organizations was sent to Nepal to share knowledge to local leaders and professionals. Activities included the use of narrative, to achieve a sense of order, continuity and clarity and non-verbal techniques designed to instill a sense of calm and security. The Nepal initiative was made possible thanks to the support of JDC and the Glazer Foundation.