Sderot: Women Avenues of Resilience

This treatment project is one which has added needed resilience to the women of Sderot. It was comprised of two parts. The first included individual meetings in the homes of women to strengthen their resiliency by focusing on the resources of their belief in G-d, their body and their community. The second was composed of two short term body-oriented psychotherapy stress reduction workshops whose goal was to enhance their coping resources. The workshop used the STREAM model (Somatic Experiencing and Dance Movement Therapy) which was used successfully with people after the Second Lebanon War in Tzefat. It was adapted to the religious community of Sderot. This population, most of whom are employed as teachers or are active in the building of the community life in Sderot, has lived with the threat of kassam rockets and accumulated traumatic stress continuously for over eight years. The project empowered the participants as women, mothers, and leaders in the community of Sderot.

Four months after the last meeting, there was a follow up session and evaluation of the effectiveness of the workshops. By evaluating the model's effectiveness, we hope to show evidence that it will be useful for others living in conditions of continuous trauma.

Today we continue to stay in contact with the Women: Avenues of Resilience in Sderot as we evaluate the results of the groups and continue to support them. We plan to share with these women and others the results of the evaluations in the near future.