ISRAELI CHARITY RUNS FIRST INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY OF THE WOUNDED WARRIORS CANADA COPE PROGRAM
TEL AVIV ISRAEL – Clinicians from NATAL, Israel’s preeminent trauma centre for victims of terror and war, have completed the first-ever international delivery of the Wounded Warriors Canada COPE (Couples Overcoming PTSD Everyday) program.
In March of 2018, representatives from Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC) and COPE clinicians accepted an invitation to travel to Israel to train a team of clinicians to facilitate the delivery of COPE. The program has been developed by WWC National Clinical Advisor, Dr. Tim Black, R. Psych. and his team. Dr. Black is an Associate Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Victoria, and has been working with the military/veteran community for the last 20 years.
COPE consists of a five-day Phase One where couples struggling with Operational Stress Injuries are gathered together to work on their relationships as a group. They learn as a small community of similarly injured people and the idea is to use a community approach to help couples recognize they are not alone and that they can improve their communication skills and manage stress as a team. Phase Two offers ongoing family coaching that extends for six months and involves three sessions per month for the duration conducted via telephone. This six month follow-up process of COPE makes it a unique program and helps to solidify the new skills for the couples.
“All of us at NATAL are honored to pioneer the ground-breaking COPE program here in Israel. We often read about the wonderful social exports coming from Israel, but we are equally as proud to import this influential model created by Wounded Warriors Canada. Meeting the team from Wounded Warriors last year was a heart-warming experience and it is our privilege to carry out this important work for couples in our society living with PTSD.” – Orly Gal, Executive Director of NATAL.
“This is an historic moment for Wounded Warriors Canada and reinforces to our supporters that their hard earned donor dollars are translating into life-changing programming that has garnered the attention of the international community. We are extremely proud of our partnership with NATAL and look forward to COPE supporting many more Veterans and First Responders living with the affects of terror and war in Israel.” – Scott Maxwell, Executive Director, Wounded Warriors Canada.
“It is both humbling and rewarding that we have been able to share our program with NATAL. To have such an honoured institution take on COPE as part of their resources is most gratifying to Kathryn and I and we look forward to seeing future couples benefit from this innovative trauma program.” – Chris and Kathryn Linford, Co-Founders of COPE.
“We have been working with the military/veteran community for many years and we are proud that the Wounded Warriors Canada COPE Program has been able to fill a gap in support by including the families alongside the Veteran or First Responder combating Operational Stress Injuries like PTSD. It is exciting to be able to take what we have learned over the past three years at the University of Victoria and share it internationally with our colleagues working to support couples suffering from the impacts of PTSD in the home.” – Dr. Tim Black, R Psych, Wounded Warriors Canada National Clinical Advisor.
