about Eden Association
Eden Association specializes in the treatment of trauma and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), supporting girls and women with an understanding that trauma does not occur in a vacuum, but is shaped by gender, social structures, and relationships.
For nearly three decades, Eden has been developing and implementing a unique therapeutic approach grounded in extensive hands-on experience. This approach integrates treatment, rehabilitation, and the creation of safe spaces that foster healing and growth.
The Association’s work is based on the Eden Model and implemented through a range of therapeutic programs and settings, including Eden Therapeutic Boarding School for girls, Eden School, Eden for Life Preparatory School—a vocational program for young women—and Eden Trauma Therapy Center for women. The Association also operates a variety of social initiatives. In addition, Eden leads and develops applied research in the field of trauma among girls and women, and trains professionals and therapeutic organizations in the application of the Eden Model.
Throughout their lives, women are affected by social, cultural, and gender-related circumstances that shape both their experience of trauma and their ability to cope with it. In extreme situations, these influences may also affect their physical well-being, personal safety, and ability to build independent, fulfilling lives.
The Eden Model is a trauma-informed, gender-sensitive therapeutic model developed through years of practical experience. It provides practical tools for creating supportive therapeutic environments and helps girls and women develop a sense of control, expand their range of choices, and rebuild lives defined by meaning, freedom, and security.
A Brief History
Eden Association was founded in 1997 by Shirley Katzir. In its early years, the Association operated various educational projects.
In 2005, Eden Therapeutic Boarding School was established at Kibbutz Karmia, near Ashkelon, initially providing care for ten girls.
Since 2007, Eden Therapeutic Boarding School has continued to expand and now provides care for approximately 50 girls coping with complex trauma who have been placed in out-of-home care so that they can receive treatment tailored to their needs. The boarding school is recognized as a leading professional residential care setting in Israel, thanks to its implementation of the Eden Model—an innovative, gender-sensitive therapeutic model for treating trauma among girls and women.
In 2010, Eden School was established. This unique school provides each student from the boarding school with a personalized learning process while helping her develop a sense of self-worth and confidence in her abilities. The school operates in partnership with the Ministry of Education’s HILA Program.
In 2021, Eden for Life Preparatory School was established at Kibbutz Dorot. The program supports young women coping with post-traumatic stress who require holistic assistance as they enter the workforce.
In 2022, Eden 51 opened at Kibbutz Dorot. This conference and content center hosts and supports organizations and companies, therapeutic settings and professionals, as well as women from the local community, in accordance with the Eden Model.
Following the October 7, 2023 massacre, and in response to the profound devastation it caused, the Association developed two new programs:
Eden Trauma Therapy Center operates at Kibbutz Dorot in accordance with the Eden Model. It provides individual and group trauma therapy for girls and women from the Gaza border region and the western Negev.
Women Tell War is a unique documentation project created to amplify the voices of women from the home front and the front lines who experienced the events of October 7 and the war. The project combines recorded testimonies with traveling art exhibitions presented in Israel and around the world, preserving these women’s stories as part of our historical and collective memory.
Our Mission
Eden Association’s mission is to become the leading professional authority in Israel and worldwide in trauma-informed care for girls and women.
After nearly three decades of experience and specialization in the treatment of complex post-traumatic stress, we have evolved from an organization operating local therapeutic settings into a pioneering national center. Today, our mission is advanced through two central and mutually reinforcing areas of activity:
A Beacon of Knowledge and Therapeutic Innovation: We aspire to establish Eden as a leading knowledge center through the Eden Model. Alongside our clinical work, we are building a research-based body of knowledge, training professionals, and introducing the model to additional treatment and welfare settings in Israel and around the world.
Developing and Operating Therapeutic Settings: The “beating heart” and clinical core of our work is the initiation, development, and operation of programs and settings that provide trauma-informed environments. These settings offer tailored, long-term support for girls and women while providing a foundation for continuous learning, impact measurement, and the implementation of innovative practices.
At Eden, we do more than treat trauma—we transform pain into a source of healing and growth, giving girls and women the tools to build better, productive, and independent lives.
Our Organizational Values
Mindfulness
Change
At Eden, we believe that change begins with awareness—awareness of what is possible and of the self—and with acceptance of the past and the present.
This process makes it possible to create change in our reality, both personally and socially. Change occurs through a dialectical process that balances validation and acceptance with the motivation to take action.
Acceptance
Letting go of the struggle to control life and being willing to face the fear, discomfort, challenges, and inevitable pain that life brings. Acceptance means acknowledging what we cannot change at this moment so that we can focus on what is within our power to change.
Acceptance is not agreement.
A Safe Space
A safe space begins as an inner space that allows us to observe our experience from a place of calm, free from background noise, fear, and anxiety. It is both a physical environment and an inner emotional space that enable change and the pursuit of personal goals.
Creating a safe space is the foundation for every healing process.
The Personal Is Social
One of the central movements in trauma recovery is between the personal and the social. Distress is not only the result of extreme events, but also of a social reality that creates marginalization, exclusion, and unequal opportunities. This understanding emphasizes that suffering is not a personal failure, but the result of broader social conditions.
Within the Eden Model, this recognition strengthens a sense of self-worth and validation, as well as the belief in one’s right to a dignified life.
Choice
Choice is a fundamental right toward which we strive. It becomes possible when we learn to live with awareness.
At Eden, we believe that the ability to choose what is right for us already exists within each of us.