ABSTRACT
The ecological community-based model for coping with traumatic stress was developed in Natal: Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War (Berger, 2002a) as a response to the unprecedented number of terror attacks since the beginning of the latest Palestinian Intifada (uprising). The model is based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological theory and Hobfoll’s (1989) Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. It posits that traumatic stress is a bio-psycho-social phenomenon embedded in multi-systemic levels, which impact the individual, the family, the community and the society at large. The changes resulting from the traumatic incident and the resources needed to cope with it determine the various levels of intervention.
