Open groups for children of holocaust survivors

Group therapy with children of Holocaust survivors is known to be effective in breaking the conspiracy of silence that is characteristic of many families in which one or both parents are Holocaust survivors. Therefore, therapeutic groups were offered at "Amcha," the Israeli Center for Psychosocial Support of Survivors of the Holocaust and the Second Generation. Initial enthusiasm was great, but actual commitment to participate on a regular basis was surprisingly low. Very few groups got off the ground. We therefore devised a framework of monthly open groups. This article presents our rationale for an open group for this population and for having three facilitators, a description of how these groups actually function, a discussion of advantages and shortcomings, and a summary of our findings.