Israel Sees 43% Surge in Psychological Treatments for At-Risk Students Amid Severe Staffing Shortages
Ministry of Education data reveals a 43% surge in psychological treatments for Israeli students at risk of suicide between 2023 and 2025, driven by ongoing wartime trauma and systemic staffing shortages.
A dramatic 43% surge in psychological treatments for students at risk of suicide between 2023 and 2025 highlights a mounting mental health crisis in Israel, according to data from the Ministry of Education released following a Freedom of Information request by the 121 association.
The escalating psychological distress is particularly acute among families living near the northern confrontation line. Michal, a mother of two from the north, described harrowing nights driving her 12-year-old daughter—currently hospitalized in a psychiatric ward—to alleviate severe anxiety and suicidal ideation. Her younger son, aged seven, struggles with anxiety and selective mutism, yet local educational frameworks offered no available psychological intervention due to severe staffing shortages.
Expanding Distress Amid Systemic Staffing Shortages
Ministry of Education figures show that approximately 3,200 suicide risk assessments are conducted annually in schools, with about 1,200 students receiving treatment for acute suicidal distress. The demand spiked dramatically following the outbreak of the war, with roughly 40,000 psychological interventions provided to students, parents, and educational staff during the first three weeks of the conflict.
"Over recent years, the circles of distress have been widening," said Yifat Sadeh, a leader of the Public Psychology Forum. "We encounter families dealing with prolonged reserve duty, injuries, or bereavement, as well as evacuated families and children experiencing long-term disruption of routine and resource depletion."
Sadeh noted that prolonged exposure to war manifests in declining academic performance, hypervigilance, emotional dysregulation, withdrawal, and behavioral difficulties. Despite this rising tide, the ministry's staffing ratio for educational psychologists has remained unchanged for over 30 years, allocating just one psychologist per 1,000 regular education students and one per 300 in special education.
Long Waiting Lists and Calls for Reform
Compounding the staffing shortage, the average waiting time for public psychological care stands at approximately 12 months, stretching even longer in peripheral regions. This delay often prevents early intervention before conditions deteriorate.
Liat Eilam, CEO of the 121 association, emphasized the urgent need to expand public services and channel permanent budgets through local municipalities.
"We must invest more in public resilience, particularly through local authorities who know their residents and can provide comprehensive, tailored support in both routine and emergency times."
Eilam urged the government to bolster community-level psychological frameworks to ensure timely identification and prevention of mental health deterioration among children and teenagers.
