Growing Up Under Fire: Building Resilience in Young Children and Parents Exposed to Ongoing Missile Attacks

This article presents data from a project in Sderot, Israel designed to build resilience for 255 young children and their families. During the time of the project, the area was under continual exposure to missile attacks and resulting traumatic events. The phenomenology of living under continual exposure to missiles attacks, as well as the impact of the ongoing fear and uncertainty on both the children and their parents, are presented through voices of the parents. The clinical picture for young children and their parents coping with ongoing terrorism indicated a high level of posttraumatic distress for children (33%) and for mothers (28%). An integrative model was developed and implemented with three major components: clinical screening and treatment with an adjusted dyadic therapy for peritraumatic and posttraumatic circumstances; building resilience intervention by workshops for both parents and teachers; and building local capacity and sustainability by training local therapists, parents, and teachers.