Seizing Opportunities for Impact: Stories of Courage and Resilience

Join Dr. D. Leitner in a thought-provoking conversation with Akiva Harow, a reserve casualty officer, as they delve into the importance of making meaningful connections in clinical social work, reflections on military service, and providing support to families of fallen soldiers and wounded warriors. Discover the impactful role of casualty officers in the Israeli Defense Forces and gain insights into dealing with pain, trauma, and the concept of radical acceptance. Witness inspiring stories of resilience and personal growth in the face of adversity. In this episode of The Doctor's Den, Dr. D. Leitner interviews Akiva Harow, a clinical social worker and reserve casualty officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). They discuss Akiva's work supporting bereaved military families and wounded veterans, as well as the meaning and emotional complexity behind serving in the IDF reserves. Main Discussion Points: Akiva's background and journey to becoming a reserve casualty officer (00:01:30 - 00:04:06) Visiting bereaved families and disabled veterans before holidays as a casualty officer (00:04:25 - 00:05:11) Akiva's experiences during the events of October 7th (00:05:00 - 00:06:22) The process when a casualty officer gets assigned to support a new bereaved family (00:06:07 - 00:06:22) Validating pain and "radical acceptance" in trauma therapy (00:36:35 - 00:41:27) The ambivalence around wanting but not wanting new casualties to support as a reserve officer (00:56:26 - 00:58:19) The camaraderie amongst casualty officers but also the intense workload (00:55:28 - 00:56:11) The complex dynamics of leadership, followership and trust within the casualty officer hierarchy (01:00:49 - 01:05:12) Akiva's conflicted feelings around leaving his reserve duty due to his civilian social work obligations (01:06:05 - 01:08:03) Guest Bio:Akiva Harow is a clinical social worker who manages the new southern branch of Beit Daniella and has a private practice working primarily with teens and young adults. He has served as a reserve casualty officer in the IDF for 13 years. Key Quotes: "I'm torn right now. I'm actually in the process of leaving my reserve duty because I have a full time job in this branch down south, and we're growing...But there's definitely that side of me that says, I'm gonna really miss this. I'm gonna lose this connection. It's part of my identity." (01:06:05) "Everyone hates bureaucracy because all you need is one link to not work effectively and the whole chain isn't effective." (01:05:08) "When people feel neglected and not cared for, it could be that a 100 people are working on this, but one link isn't effective and it's not working." (01:05:23) You can learn more about Dr. D. Leitner on his website: https://bit.ly/DrDWebsite