The Implications of Wartime Evacuation for Israeli Families With Young Children: A Social Worker's Perspective

The current study examines the perceptions of Israeli social workers during the Israel–Hamas war regarding evacuated families with young children, the interventions they implemented and their experiences of working with these families within a shared traumatic reality. The study adds to the limited literature on the wartime implications and interventions for families with young children during prolonged evacuation. Eleven social workers were interviewed during the families' return to their homes after 9 months of displacement. Four small group interviews and two in-depth interviews were conducted with social workers. The findings indicated that from the social workers' perspective, the boundaries within the evacuated families and the families' external boundaries became blurred and that boundaries were a central focus of the interventions. This was accompanied by a blurring of boundaries between the personal and professional spheres for the social workers, who were experiencing the shared traumatic reality. The implications emphasize the destabilizing of boundaries within families with young children during evacuation, the professional interventions that should be prioritized in such situations and the need for emotional and professional support for social workers who assist these families while grappling with similar experiences.