Identifying and Applying

the Axioms of Trauma

Resilience
Israeli trauma experts explain Trauma Resilience
lessons from research and lives lived in Israel
A Tulane Traumatology Institute Project

Trauma Resilience in Israel

Project Impetus
O The outbreak of hostilities and missile

attacks in Israel in November 2012 led Dr.

Charles Figley, Director of the Traumatology
Institute, and Dr. Ronald Marks, Dean of the
School of Social Work at Tulane University, to
develop an Israeli Expert Panel on Trauma
Resilience and perform interviews with a
select group of these experts to learn more
about trauma resilience and how those
facing ongoing trauma cope.

What does it mean to be

trauma resilient?
O individual trauma

resilience
O family resilience
O community resilience
O national resilience

Who better to answer this

question than experts who
studied human response to
trauma?
O Experts who also lived in Israel

surrounded by war, terrorism, and the

danger of trauma.

The Traumatology Institute

O Through a grant from the Tulane University

School of Social Work conducted video

interviews and surveyed the Israeli Trauma
Resilience Panel.
O This presentation discusses how the
questions were answered through the
Variable Generating Activity (VGA)
methodology to generate a list of axioms
about trauma resilience.

Tulane University
Traumatology Institute
Research Plan
O Formed an expert panel of trauma scholars living in Israel and have

O
O

O
O
O

them select a subset of 7 panelists to interview about trauma

resilience (November 2012).
Video interviewed the 7 Panel members about their life, their work,
and about trauma resilience (December 2012).
A team of five research assistants (Clare Cannon, Vicky Lattone,
Ayesha Sujan, and Christopher Weatherly), coordinated by
Eric Corzine, identified and verified the potential axioms from the
videos and created a list of 83 for review by the entire Panel (July
2014).
The Panel voted on their agreement with the 83 axioms in order to
determine consensus (August 2014).
Another follow-up Panel survey is scheduled for January 2016 to
identify how the axioms could be or have been applied..
Following is a brief overview of the collaboration with the Panel,
starting with discussions with Dr. Zahava Solomon.

Establishing the Panel with

the Help of Zahava Solomon
Left to right: Gil Ramon
(videographer), Dr. Ron Marks
(interviewer), and Dr.
Solomon at the 2012
video interview in Israel.

O An internationally renowned psychiatric

epidemiologist and pioneer trauma scholar, Dr.

Solomon helped the Traumatology Institute team
identify a Panel on Trauma Resilience composed of
world-renowned experts to reach a consensus on a
set of truisms or axioms about trauma resilience.

Interview #1: Zahava

Solomon is a Renowned
Trauma Psychologist
and Epidemiologist

O She talks about a wonderful childhood thanks to her

mother, a Holocaust survivor. She also talks about her

work with the Israeli Defense Forces and the research
she carried out on trauma for the military.

Interview #2: David Senesh is a Former

POW and Nephew of the Legendary
Hannah Senesh

O He talked about life as a POW, survival,

traumatic stress injuries, and resilience

requirements. His autobiographical essay will be
published in Traumatology in September, 2016.

Interview #3: Mooli Lahad is a

Professor and Innovator
O He talked

about the
challenges
and joys of
living in Israel
and
experiencing
trauma
resilience at
all levels.

Interview #4: Avi Bleich is a Former

Colonel, and Director MH Dept.,
Medical Corps of the IDF

O He discussed the challenges of trauma

resilience nationally and the critically

important role of leadership. His
autobiographical essay will be published in
Traumatology in September, 2016.

Interview #5: Rachel Dekel is a Social

Work Dean

O She talked about her life as a social worker,

and her experiences helping families that are

confronting trauma. Her autobiographical
essay will be published in Traumatology in
September, 2016.

Interview #6: Itamar Barnea is a

Former Wounded POW and Fighter
Pilot
O Dr. Barnea

related his wartime

experiences in
Syria being
shot and
fighting for life.

Interview #7: Rony Berger is a University

Professor, a Social Service Innovator and
an Activist

O He is skeptical of the views of some about

resiliency arguing it is not just about

minimizing symptomology, but Its also about
values and identity; it is also very culturally
bound.

Post-Interview Discussions
to Clarify and Summarize

Discussions with Members of the

Trauma Resilience Task Force, near
Gaza
(December 2012)

Results
O What is known about those who have

trauma resilience.
O How the Panelist somehow accommodate
the shock of trauma and its consequences.
O How each end up stronger and more
adaptable to future shocks.
O A total of 83 separate trauma resilience
truisms ranked by the Panel who will later
discuss the the next steps in transforming
axioms into actions.

Results

(cont..)

O They talk about their lives

being framed by the on-going

trauma confronting Israel.
O They were among the first to
figure out that resilience is
more complicated than just
springing back;
O These Trauma Resilience
Axioms may help uncover the
active ingredients in trauma
resilience leading to thriving
not just surviving trauma.

Special Issue on Trauma

Resilience
O A special issue will include a section on the

project and feature 4 papers by Panelists

(Senesh, Bleich, Dekel, and Berger) and will be
published in September 2016.
O A paper will thoroughly discuss the Project and
Panel findings.
O Will discuss how policies, procedures and social
innovation could be considered in light of the
new findings about trauma resilience
O Will discuss a set of summits held in Tel Aviv and
New Orleans to apply the lessons of trauma
resilience to helping the traumatized

Sunset Over the Sea, Tel Aviv

212