חוכמת המעשה: מכעס וחוסר אונים לאקטיביות והכרת תודה: ניתוח התערבות חד-פעמית עם מפונים במלחמת חרבות ברזל

Background: A project was developed at the School of Education at Bar-Ilan University designed to help a community of evacuees from a city in southern Israel during the first three months of the Iron Swords War. Aim: To present a one-time group intervention among these evacuees who were asked to leave their hotel and return home during the Iron Swords War. Method: An event description, giving a detailed account of the one-time meeting with the evacuees and an analysis of the professional intervention that contributed to the process experienced by the participants. Quotes are incorporated from both the participants and the facilitators. Findings: The elements of the intervention reflect two parallel processes. The first involves facilitators abandoning their original plan, transferring from group support setting to community intervention and delegating responsibility back to the participants. The second is the change experienced by participants from feelings of anger towards the establishment and its representatives, initially directed also at the facilitators, to feelings of gratitude and responsibility, and a transition from helplessness to activism. Evacuees felt that the facilitators allowed them to voice their concerns, engage in constructive dialogue, and organize for community action to address the issues troubling them. Operational outcomes of this process and its implications for the evacuee community are presented. Conclusions and Practical Implications: Techniques are offered for immediate intervention that can be used by social workers during acute crises in complex situations, when the sense of distress experienced by the clients can exacerbate their anger and aggression towards the workers.