Between Service and Silence: Suicide Risk in Israel's Mental Health Workforce

They are the ones everyone turns to — the listeners, the counselors, the psychologists, the social workers, the crisis-line volunteers. They hear the worst and hold it quietly. They are the ones who don't look away.

But sometimes, the very people who save lives lose sight of their own.

Across Israel, the mental health community has carried extraordinary weight since October 7. Therapists have absorbed grief upon grief; social workers have visited families shattered by trauma; hotline responders have fielded calls from despairing voices every night.

Mental Health First Aid Israel calls this crisis the burden of the healers — and warns that without systemic support, it can lead to the most devastating outcome of all: suicide among those sworn to prevent it.