A two-axes approach to integrative psychotherapy during war: A mind-body and individual-system perspectives

The October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel created an unprecedented mental health crisis marked by mass trauma, grief, and displacement. Traditional psychotherapy models - designed for stable, individual-focused settings - were challenged by the scope, intensity, and diversity of needs emerging in the aftermath. Drawing on existing literature and extensive clinical experience during the ensuing war, this paper proposes a comprehensive, integrative model of psychotherapy guided by two intersecting axes: mind-body and individual-system. This model conceptualizes war-related distress as existing along continua that encompass psychological and physical injury, and extend from the individual to familial and community systems. It highlights the importance of flexible, interdisciplinary, and modular interventions that address comorbidity, ambiguous loss, secondary trauma, and identity reconstruction following injury and disability. Clinical examples drawn from real-world therapy with war survivors illustrate how these axes inform assessment, formulation, and treatment -integrating approaches from cognitive-behavioral, narrative, psychodynamic, systemic, and rehabilitation psychology. The model underscores the need for mental health care that dynamically adapts to the interplay between trauma, grief, physical injury, and collective distress. Ultimately, this two-axes framework offers clinicians a theoretically-grounded yet practical approach to psychotherapy in contexts of ongoing war, emphasizing flexibility, integration, and collaboration across mind-body and system levels to promote resilience and healing amid prolonged crisis.