(Sept. 28, 2026 / American Friends of NATAL)
On Oct. 8, American Friends of NATAL (AFN) will host its second annual conference, this year in collaboration with the Columbia University PTSD Research and Treatment Program. The conference, “Resilience Under Pressure,”themed “Strength in Unity: Trauma & Recovery,” will focus on “rolling trauma” and its extended effects on family, intimacy and community.
AFN supports the work of NATAL-Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center and exists to bring NATAL’s expertise, built from rapidly adapting to real-world events in Israel, to U.S. audiences and professionals. The conference will bring together U.S. and Israeli professionals to examine the prevalence of trauma and its communal effects through evidence-based programming and expert panels.
Opening keynotes
The day opens with remarks from Jude Yovel-Recanati, founder of NATAL and Dity Brunn, Ph.D., licensed psychologist in Beverly Hills, Calif., a professor of psychology at Pepperdine University and longtime AFN board member, followed by two keynotes.
Boaz Shalgi, Ph.D., chief psychologist of NATAL, will present “Trauma, ‘Rolling Trauma,’ and the Capacity to Mourn.” He will explore how the psyche survives under continuous threat and address the compounding toll of repetitive trauma on individuals and communities, presenting the capacity to mourn as a bridge that allows traumatized people to rebuild bonds with themselves and those around them.
Yuval Neria, Ph.D., professor of clinical medical psychology at Columbia University, departments of psychiatry and epidemiology, and director of Trauma and PTSD at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), will present “The Aftermath of Trauma: Risk, Resilience and the Need for Systemic Response.” While the majority of people exposed to mass trauma show resilience and natural recovery, a significant minority develop chronic PTSD, depression or anxiety. Neria will call for a systemic response that includes population-level screening, widespread training of clinicians in evidence-based treatments and task-shifting models that expand access to care. Neria was injured in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and, at 22, was awarded Israel’s Medal of Valor. In 2016, he founded the Columbia-NYP Military Family Wellness Center.
Expert panels
“Ghosts (of War) in the Living Room: Trauma’s Ripple Effects on Intimacy, Parenting and Family Systems” will be moderated by Shira Hon-Lahav, founder of Therapeutic Alliance NYC. Panelists are Riki Meiri, M.S.W., clinical director of the clinical unit at NATAL and head of the couples and family therapy program at Bar-Ilan University and Dana Katsoty, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University and NYSPI whose doctoral research examined mental health trajectories following the Oct. 7 attack and the Israel-Hamas war.
“Coping Together: Moving from Individual Isolation to Collective Healing and Growth” will be moderated by Shalgi. Panelists are Milton Wainberg, Ph.D., professor of clinical psychiatry and director of the Columbia University Community Mental Wellness Center, who since Oct. 7, 2023, has partnered with Israel’s Ministry of Health and major health funds, including Maccabi, Clalit and Leumit; and Ayelet Tapiero, M.S.W., professional director of the “For the Community” program at NATAL.
“Voices from the Field: Transforming Lived Experience into Present-Day Clinical Insight” will be moderated by Neria. Panelists are:
- Matthew Ryba, a decorated combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and program manager of the PTSD Research and Treatment Team and Man o’ War Project at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NYSPI.
- Liat Levinhar-Be, author of the memoir Ever Since You Left, whose husband, Shai, was killed while working on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.
- Gaya Shalev, who served as a combat paramedic in the IDF’s Givati Brigade and will share her story from Kfar Aza on Oct. 7.
Workshop and performance
Hamutal Posklinsky-Shehory, M.A., LCAT, RDT, founder of Grow Your Narrative, will lead “Reclaiming Agency Through Dramatic Embodiment in Trauma Processing,” an interactive workshop on how drama therapy helps clients process trauma.
The program also features “BUILDINGS,” a movement performance choreographed by Michal Ben-Lior with music by Dan Mayo and Yehezkel Raz. The piece explores the internal conflict of striving toward a more peaceful existence while confronting hate and terror and draws on the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
Innovation briefs
The day closes with short presentations on research and new treatment frontiers. Yifat Reuveni, Ph.D., of NATAL will present NATAL’s research since Oct. 7, including its Trauma and Gender study and its use of artificial intelligence to analyze the testimonies of released civilian hostages. Rony Kapel Lev-Ari, Ph.D., a T32 postdoctoral research fellow in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University and NYSPI, will present “Digital Phenotyping in Trauma-Focused Clinical Care: Opportunities and Challenges.”
For tickets, visit: https://www.afnatal.org/event-details/resilience-under-pressure-2026
For the full program, visit: https://www.afnatal.org/resilience-under-pressure
