Keren Hayesod-UIA is monitoring the situation closely and it has launched an Emergency Campaign together with the Hostage and Missing Family Forum to provide psychological counseling and emotional therapy to the families of hostages and missing persons. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum is a volunteer-based organization focused on bringing all of the captives back home and offers families holistic intervention and various professional assistance.

Unfortunately, due to the magnitude of the events on October 7th and beyond, The State of Israel is facing a significant manpower crisis with regard to mental health and is unable to meet the demand for psychological counseling and emotional therapy that the families of hostages and missing persons desperately need. The situation among these families is also complex because unlike in situations

As the families of hostages and missing persons wait in agony and hostage-for-prisoner exchanges are is taking place, it is not possible to change the dim reality and uncertainty that these families continue to face, until the last hostage returns home. Therefore, it is important to establish a comprehensive support program for the families of the hostages and missing persons to help them cope with their feelings of isolation and anxiety and cope with their horrifying reality

The coming weeks and months will be characterized by many changes, both external and internal, which will significantly affect all members of these families, and in some cases may even cause severe upheavals. The proposed program includes a framework to provide psychological counseling and emotional therapy to the families of hostages and missing persons that will help them to build their resilience, both in the short-term and long-term, with the overall goal of achieving independence and functioning as individuals and as families again.

Led by an advisory committee, the program will utilize leading professionals in the field of trauma and wherever possible use public/government resources, provided that this does not harm the quality of the treatment or its duration. Based on the guiding principle of “patient comfort,” each family will have a tailor-made program that responds to their unique individual needs. The psychological counseling and emotional therapy will be provided in resilience centers, medical centers and community centers located throughout Israel and if required, in patients' homes.
The therapy process, which will include both individual and group sessions, will begin as soon as each family is able. Two family members will receive weekly therapy four times per month for a total 18 months.