Psychotherapists in Traumatological Environments: Coping Through Collective Mission, Shared Trauma, and Intergenerational Wounds

Abstract Mental health providers (MHPs) working within a shared traumatic reality face unique emotional and professional challenges, especially when they are both personally impacted and professionally responsible for the care of others. This study explores how MHPs working in a war zone navigate the complexities of shared trauma where both therapist and client are simultaneously affected by the same collective crisis. Based on qualitative analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 MHP providing care in the aftermath of the October 7th, 2023 terror attacks and during the ensuing war, three major themes emerged: (1) Compassion satisfaction through civic mission, in which participants framed their work as a personal “Tzav 8” (emergency deployment), grounded in cultural values of solidarity and national responsibility; (2) The activation of collective and intergenerational trauma, as therapists’ personal and intergenerational histories of war, displacement, and Holocaust survival were reawakened when providing treatment; and (3) Coping mechanisms under shared trauma, including dissociation and selective empathy, which allowed clinicians to function but also revealed emotional costs. Participants oscillated between professional fulfillment and shared trauma, as the therapeutic space became a convergence point for national memory and current emotional strain. The findings highlight how cultural frameworks both buffer and intensify the impact of shared trauma and suggest the need for context-sensitive support systems, supervision models, and a re-evaluation of coping strategies. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how caregiving unfolds within collective crises, offering theoretical and practical insights into mental health work in conflict zones.