Beyond the professional mask: exploring therapists’ experiences of shared presence in a therapeutic community

This study explored therapists’ experiences of working in an Israeli therapeutic community treating military-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), focusing on how therapeutic work is understood and enacted beyond the formal therapy room. Utilizing a qualitative-phenomenological approach, we examined the experiences of 14 therapists)social workers and psychotherapists), six men and eight women. Data were collected in semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted between June 2025 and August 2025. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data. Therapists described the community as a continuous therapeutic milieu in which “being with” clients through everyday presence, informal conversations, shared meals, and spontaneous encounters was clinically meaningful to them. At the same time, they highlighted ongoing boundary negotiations (closeness vs. professionalism), substantial emotional labor, and the need to manage visibility and authenticity (“leaving the mask outside”). Team cohesion and reflective spaces were portrayed as essential resources for sustaining work and processing ethical and emotional dilemmas. Findings suggest that in communal models treating military PTSD, therapists understand change as emerging from relational continuity and everyday interactions as much as from structured interventions. Services adopting community-based approaches should prioritize training and supervision focused on boundary management, support, and clinical use of informal contact.