Introduction: The June 2025 “12-Day War of Iran- Israel” between Iran and Israel inflicted substantial human and infrastructural losses, generating a psychosocial emergency affecting both civilians and mental health professionals. This study investigates the psycho-occupational challenges and adaptive responses of psychologists and counselors during this acute, short-term conflict.
Method: Employing a qualitative interpretive phenomenological design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 mental health practitioners in Tehran.
Result: Data analysis via MAXQDA identified seven interconnected themes: emotional reactions (shock, fear, anger), cognitive responses (catastrophic scenario construction, disruption in Cognitive Processes, hypervigilance), physiological manifestations (fight-or-flight activation, psychosomatic symptoms), behavioral adaptations (avoidance, role conflict, disrupted routines), occupational-economic pressures (income loss, job insecurity), work-related professional stress (occupational burnout, self-reliance Stereotype, transference of emotional burden to family, demand–Capacity Paradox), and foundational-structural challenges (work structure paralysis, lack of safe occupational Space).
Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that even brief armed conflicts can profoundly compromise mental health professionals’ well-being, blurring personal-professional boundaries and exacerbating role strain. Recommendations include structured support programs, culturally adapted self-care protocols, and organizational policy reforms to mitigate therapist workload and enhance resilience. Limitations include generalizability to long-term conflicts and reliance on self-reported data. Future research should employ longitudinal designs, cross-cultural evaluations, and diverse sampling to optimize interventions for mental health practitioners in crisis contexts.