Mayanei Hayeshua’s Mental Health Center

Pioneering excellence in Israel’s mental health scene

Each year, the large Mental Health facility in Israel’s Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center treats over 25,000 patients from all over Israel and beyond. The dedicated 7-story building houses dozens of different in-patient departments and out-patient clinics, from Eating Disorders to CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). The Mental Health Center’s unique approach to mental health issues is consistent with the hospital’s core commitment to Halacha and the sanctity of human life. 

The Mental Health Center’s medical director and chief psychiatrist, Professor Rael Strous, heads a highly trained team of mental health professionals: psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychiatric nurses, social workers and occupational therapists. Professor Strous: “With the full support of the community’s civic and religious leaders, we are facing down the stigma of mental health. No community is immune to the mental health challenges of the wider society. Cultural sensitivity for all our patients is a major priority for us, and we are determined to eradicate the emotional fragility that once plagued many families around mental health issues. Before we opened our mental health facilities, most families were too afraid to seek help from other clinics. Now that we operate openly in the center of the city, demand for our services is at a peak.” 

In the three short years since it opened, the Mental Health Center has already established a reputation for pioneering excellence in Israel’s mental health scene. According to the Ministry of Health, Mayanei Hayeshua’s Mental Health Center boasts the shortest average stay in the country, as well as by far the lowest percentage of patients returning for treatment. The chair of an all-party Knesset health committee recently announced: “We are recommending to the Minister of Health that Mayanei Hayeshua’s Mental Health Center should serve as the model for all psychiatric facilities in Israel.”