Who We Are
Israel Healing Initiative is a nonprofit dedicated to healing trauma at the speed of science. The organization accelerates recovery for survivors worldwide by delivering neurostimulation simultaneously with trauma-informed psychotherapy, making those with anxiety, severe PTSD, or even suicidal thoughts more responsive to treatment and enabling quicker, more effective outcomes.
After the gruesome attacks by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Dr. Orli Peter, a neuropsychologist and clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles, created Israel Healing Initiative to provide state-of-the-art support to the survivors of disasters, terrorism and war. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she knew that psychological trauma leaves measurable changes in brain functioning and, if untreated, can ultimately reshape the brain’s architecture.
During two years of operation, the Israel Healing Initiative has developed a two-tracked strategy to bring healing to communities.
Recently, Dr. Peter conveyed this urgency of bringing treatment to trauma survivors in a poignant New York Times column, “If Only My Father Could Choose to Deny the Holocaust Ever Happened,” which described the Holocaust memories now flooding her father’s mind as he battles Alzheimer’s.
Today, Israel Healing Initiative includes neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and other mental health professionals and researchers from around the world, coming together to accelerate treatment for trauma survivors.
After the gruesome attacks by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Dr. Orli Peter, a neuropsychologist and clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles, created Israel Healing Initiative to provide state-of-the-art support to the survivors of disasters, terrorism and war. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she knew that psychological trauma leaves measurable changes in brain functioning and, if untreated, can ultimately reshape the brain’s architecture.
During two years of operation, the Israel Healing Initiative has developed a two-tracked strategy to bring healing to communities.
- Firstly, through an integrated approach that combines qEEG-guided neurostimulation with psychotherapy, we enable survivors with severe PTSD to stabilize rapidly. This jump-starts the brain’s capacity to recover, restoring sleep, improving focus, and resestablishing the ability to regulate emotions – a critical safeguard against suicidal crises and extreme psychological disturbances. After intensive treatment, we provide survivors with simple neurostimulation devices they can use at home, helping them maintain the benefits of a more resilient nervous system and continue coping as new stressors arise.
- Secondly, in order to scale our treatment services, we train healthcare providers in the use of the neurostimulation devices and provide them devices to bring treatment to wider communities. Because these devices are easy to use and affordable, they can be scaled broadly across Israel to ease anxiety, improve sleep, and reduce both treatment and pharmaceutical costs for those struggling with the immense stress of war.
Recently, Dr. Peter conveyed this urgency of bringing treatment to trauma survivors in a poignant New York Times column, “If Only My Father Could Choose to Deny the Holocaust Ever Happened,” which described the Holocaust memories now flooding her father’s mind as he battles Alzheimer’s.
Today, Israel Healing Initiative includes neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and other mental health professionals and researchers from around the world, coming together to accelerate treatment for trauma survivors.
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Neuroscience and RecoveryIn a new award-winning documentary, Resilient, Dr. Orli Peter uses neurostimulation guided by neuroimaging to show how trauma impacts the brain and how neurostimulation accelerates recovery.
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Testimonials
We have treated survivors of the Nova Music Festival in Israel and in the United States, and we are honored to share their testimonials of the relief we have brought them.
Nova Survivor Guy Ben ShimonFeels a Positive Difference after One Neurostimulation Treatment
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Nova Survivor RaphaelShares Relief From Anxiety for
the First Time in Years |
Follow us @IsraelHealingInitiative
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Dr. Orli Peter, PhD, DirectorSpecializing in trauma for over 30 years, Dr. Peter provides a 90-second overview of the Israel Healing Initiative.
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Treatment Plan Overview
Value |
Psychological Treatments |
Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Training |
Neuroimaging and Neurostimulation |
Neuroimaging and Extensive Neurostimulation |
Anxiety |
✓ |
✓ |
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PTSD |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
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Severe PTSD |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Help Us Reach Survivors
The Israel Healing Initiative combines cutting-edge neurostimulation with trauma-informed care to restore healthy functioning of the full nervous system—the brain, where memory and emotion are processed, and the vagus nerve, which regulates the body’s stress and calm responses. In just two years, we’ve helped survivors of Nova, the kibbutzim massacres, Bedouin and Druze communities, and many others reclaim their lives.
Now, as we enter our third year, we have the chance to take a bold step forward: opening a full-time clinic in Israel. To make this vision real, we need your support. Your gift will create a center where survivors with severe PTSD—too often left untreated in an overburdened health care system—can finally receive intensive care, and where treatments can be scaled to reach thousands more still battling anxiety from the lasting impact of war. Every donation helps restore functioning, giving survivors the strength to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities in ways they once thought impossible.
Help us bring scientifically supported treatments to survivors as they rebuild lives shattered by war. By joining us, you not only support recovery today—you invest in a future where trauma can be treated more effectively worldwide.
Together, we can shape the future of trauma treatment.
Now, as we enter our third year, we have the chance to take a bold step forward: opening a full-time clinic in Israel. To make this vision real, we need your support. Your gift will create a center where survivors with severe PTSD—too often left untreated in an overburdened health care system—can finally receive intensive care, and where treatments can be scaled to reach thousands more still battling anxiety from the lasting impact of war. Every donation helps restore functioning, giving survivors the strength to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities in ways they once thought impossible.
Help us bring scientifically supported treatments to survivors as they rebuild lives shattered by war. By joining us, you not only support recovery today—you invest in a future where trauma can be treated more effectively worldwide.
Together, we can shape the future of trauma treatment.
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Hours Providing Treatment
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Total Number of Survivors Treated
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Number of Devices Distributed
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