“Home within the Heart” – A Group Play-Based Intervention to Foster Mental Health and Resilience among Parents and Their Young Children Affected by War

Presented by Dr. Yael Mayer & Dr. Yael Enav - Senior Faculty members at the University of Haifa and Clinical Psychologists

Date: Sunday, April 27th, 2025
Time: 10:00 am PT / 11:00 am MT / 12:00 pm CT / 1:00 p.m. ET
Webinar length is approx 75-90 min, ZOOM link will be sent to those who registered  a few days before the event

The traumatic events of October 7th, 2023, had a profound impact on Israeli families, particularly young children and their parents. In the aftermath of a large-scale terror attack and subsequent war, thousands of families were abruptly displaced from their homes for an indefinite period. Others remained under constant threat of bombardment, while many children experienced prolonged separation from their parents and were called into extended military reserve duty.

This mass displacement and ongoing instability have taken a serious toll on the mental health and emotional well-being of children and their caregivers. In response, a short-term therapeutic group intervention called "Home within the Heart" was developed to address the emotional needs of young children and their parents during this unprecedented time.

Grounded in extensive clinical and research-based knowledge on the protective role of the parent-child relationship and attachment during crises, Home within the Heart focuses on strengthening this bond as a source of resilience and emotional safety. The program is designed for dyads of parents and children aged 3–6 and takes place in temporary accommodations (such as evacuation spaces) and local communities. Sessions are delivered in small groups, offering families both therapeutic support and a sense of shared experience to ease isolation.

The weekly sessions—held over five weeks—are facilitated by experienced psychotherapists and include therapeutic play, narrative techniques, and guided activities to enhance parental mentalization and parent-child connection. The group setting allows for normalization and mutual support, fostering resilience through shared experience.

An exploratory longitudinal study involving 96 parent-child dyads demonstrated promising outcomes, indicating improvements in coping abilities and emotional resilience among both children and parents. These findings suggest the potential of short-term, relationship-based group interventions to strengthen the mental health of families affected by war and displacement.

In this webinar, we will:

• Present the theoretical foundations of the Home within the Heart program and how they were adapted into accessible tools for families in crisis.
• Demonstrate selected practices and techniques from the sessions.
• Discuss the therapeutic value of shared parent-child interventions in early childhood during times of upheaval.
• Share key findings from the study evaluating the program’s impact on participating families.

This session is intended for mental health professionals working with families, children, and communities affected by trauma, displacement, or armed conflict.
The Home within the Heart website

1. Describe the psychological impact of mass displacement, trauma, and prolonged stress on young children and their caregivers in contexts of armed conflict.
2. Explain the theoretical foundations underlying the Home within the Heart program, including the role of the parent-child relationship as a protective factor for resilience and emotional well-being.
3. Identify practical tools and therapeutic strategies for enhancing parental mentalization and parent-child attachment in times of crisis.
4. Analyze the structure and components of a short-term, dyadic, group-based intervention designed for early childhood in displacement settings.
5. Interpret key findings from an exploratory longitudinal study evaluating the effectiveness and feasibility of the intervention model.
6. Reflect on how culturally informed, relationship-centered approaches can be applied in other contexts of trauma, displacement, or emergency mental health response.

Dr. Yael Enav is a senior faculty member at the School of Therapy, Counseling and Human Development at the University of Haifa. She is a clinical psychologist and researcher specializing in parental mentalization, trauma, and early childhood development. She has extensive experience working with families facing adversity, particularly in regions affected by conflict and displacement. Dr. Enav is the founder and director of the Mentalization and Emotion Regulation Lab, which investigates the connections between reflective parenting, emotional regulation, and well-being. As a co-founder of Home within the Heart, she plays a central role in developing trauma-informed interventions that support parents and young children during times of crisis. Her work emphasizes the importance of strengthening parental emotional regulation and reflective capacity as key mechanisms for fostering children's resilience and psychological health.

Dr. Yael Mayer is a senior faculty member at the School of Therapy, Counseling and Human Development at the University of Haifa and an honorary research associate at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is a clinical psychologist and researcher with expertise in knowledge translation in mental health, and the promotion of inclusion, diversity, and belonging as pathways to improved psychological well-being. Dr. Mayer is the founder and director of the BELONG Lab, which investigates how social and systemic factors influence mental health, with a particular focus on inclusion and belonging. She co-founded Home within the Heart, a therapeutic initiative supporting families displaced by war, and has led the development of numerous community-based programs designed to strengthen resilience in vulnerable populations during crises and emergencies. Her work bridges clinical practice and social innovation, including founding the Levinsky Garden Library and Educational Center for refugees and asylum seekers in Israel, and heading maternal and women’s empowerment initiatives in both Israel and Canada.