Dr. Amir Blumenfeld: Survivors of captivity need long-term rehabilitation

Dr. Blumenfeld emphasized that the return from captivity was accompanied by deep wounds, which do not disappear with the end of the media event. “They returned after a very long period in captivity, after suffering physical, mental and sexual abuse, and they all need rehabilitation. None of them, as far as I know, have returned to the life they had before.”

Here, according to him, a deep tension arises between the therapeutic need and the limits of the intervention. “You can’t force mental therapy, it has to be in agreement between the therapist and the patient,” he mentioned. “On the other hand, it is possible to create a public atmosphere that says: You are back, let’s accept it.”

According to him, the responsibility is not only placed on the health system – but also on society as a whole. “We also have a part in the rehabilitation of the returnees. The public has shifted a lot to other confessions of activity, seemingly the story of the abductees is over,” he said, clarifying that this was a grave mistake. “There is an impression that only the stories of heroism came up in the media, when they talk about their difficulties it is pushed to the margins.”

According to him, a change of mind has already begun, but the road is still long: “Up until a few years ago, post-trauma was a shame in Israel.”