Animals Help Children Process Trauma

Eshkol Regional Council, a community on Israel's southern border, has long been a target. Thousands of rockets and incendiary balloons have fallen here, but nothing compares to the unimaginable horrors of October 7th, 2023. The returning families are not just coming home; they are navigating a new reality, facing the constant danger of a war still being fought while trying to heal from the trauma they have endured.

"Since before October 7th, we already knew that animal therapy is very, very helpful and effective in treating trauma," said Nili Tover Zivan, an Animal Assisted Therapist from the Israel Trauma Coalition. "Since October 7th, there's been a rise in the need for therapy, especially with kids. Almost 100% of people who live here are on a huge waiting list for therapy, but there are not enough therapists or facilities. The idea was that if they could bring the therapy to the children, they could lower the waiting list and provide therapy to as many kids as possible. The animal therapy caravan goes wherever she takes it, holding up the arm of the brand, continuing wherever the children used to go. The first place that we came to, is we decided to park ourselves for the first few months in the school. The school is located in Eshkol, which is the area that was hit the hardest from October 7th."

Working alongside the Israel Trauma Coalition, they've discovered the devastating impact of this crisis on children. There is a desperate need to treat the severe trauma they have experienced.

Zivan explained, "Most kids who live in this area have a problem with their home, whether they have one or don't have one, or what happened while they were in their home. When I bring out a turtle and the turtle is going in and out of his calm, his house, it brings up a lot of conversation. This allows children to process their feelings in a safe way. The conversation can be about why the turtle won't come out and whether a child would want to be forced out of their house. It's two things. It's that the child and the animal and then what they bring together and then the therapist... Before October 7th, the organization that we provide therapy had 20 therapists, give or take, and today they have more than 200, and it's not enough."

That's why CBN Israel has provided an animal therapy caravan. It is a safe space where children can find comfort and begin to heal from the trauma they have experienced.

"Thanks to CBN, I was able to bring the caravan here," Zivan said. "It already provided an extra 30 hours of therapy that weren't provided before, so whether some of those are groups of three kids, it's already time three for those groups. And whether it's one on one for the kids... we think that it's more important to give them the one on one. That in itself is huge because we lack therapists and we lack the facilities and the animals. The therapy is super helpful, and to be able to bring the animals to them is bringing not just therapy, but it's bringing a really unique and successful type of therapy."