Opinion Today: The mental trauma Gazans are facing

"We will die. All of us."

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story February 22, 2024 By Neel V. Patel Staff Editor, Opinion Society today is more aware than ever of the importance of mental health. It is commonplace to see people openly discuss their feelings and emotions, share stories of trauma and mental duress and seek treatment so they can start to feel better. But there is a limit to what modern mental health care can do in places where trauma is a regular part of life. Few places suffer as much constant conflict as Gaza, where traumatic events born out of war have affected generation after generation. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are widespread in the enclave. Psychiatry and mental health services developed and tested in the West for the last 100 years cannot adequately treat Gazans, whose experiences defy our normal understandings of these conditions. This is far from a revelation for Yara M. Asi, an assistant professor of global health at the University of Central Florida. Asi is also a Palestinian from the West Bank, where much of her family resides. "Most current frameworks for mental health are almost totally insufficient to describe and reckon with the war-related trauma Palestinians in Gaza have endured these last several months," she writes for Opinion. "And by extension, our traditional methods of providing mental health care will not be enough, either." When the war finally ends, helping Gaza's people heal not just physically, but mentally, will be an enormous challenge. Asi does not see this challenge as unsurmountable. She is hopeful that this is a moment when the mental health community can reframe its approach to Gazans, and others affected by conflict. There are small steps to take like changing terms and definitions for diagnostic criteria; and there are large steps to take like training a new health care work force to treat mental health like any physical ailment. No step is insignificant. But ultimately, Asi writes, we cannot conceive of a brighter future for Gaza and for Palestinians if the effects of trauma are allowed to fester. Mental health will be an essential component to restoring long-lasting peace and security to the Middle East — on par with the social, political and economic elements that enable a safe, thriving environment. Read the full essay. Ibrahim Azab Guest Essay The Trauma Experienced in Gaza Is Beyond PTSD What Palestinians have been experiencing right now is beyond the framework of today's mental health care. By Yara M. Asi Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Guest Essay Putin Has Already Lost Ukraine will never be his. 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