Ziv Medical Center is healing the souls of Israeli children. Here is how

Support Ziv͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ [Beit Micha children]( Healing the souls of Israeli children The Ziv Medical Center in Safed runs one of the largest centers for youth mental health in the country. It needs help to fulfill its mission. By Jerusalem Post Staff When M., a 17-year-old from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, was only 12, she experienced severe trauma that left her to deal with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Last summer, these phenomena were re-ignited after she badly injured her leg, preventing her from walking for months. M. found herself battling with acute depression. "With my injury, leaving the house became difficult not only emotionally but also physically," she recalled. "I also felt that my school did not know how to deal with me." In the spring, M. was referred to the "greenhouse," a unique program run by [Ziv Medical Center](. [SUPPORT ZIV]( Located in Safed, Ziv is Israel’s utmost northern hospital, serving a population of over 300,000 people, including the residents of the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee. Regarding psychiatric services, especially for children and teenagers, Ziv provides these services for all the area northern to Haifa. The region is also home to a mosaic of communities, Jews, Arabs and Christians, Druzes and Circassians, ultra-Orthodox, religious and secular. "We describe the ‘greenhouse’ initiative as the missing link between private therapy and hospitalization," said Dr. Uri Yatzkar, Director of [The Child And Adolescent Psychiatry Department]( at Ziv. The program includes a number of clinics located in several communities in the north, not only in Safed but also in the Golan Heights, Kyriat Shmona and Maghar - where Ziv runs the largest Arabic-speaking psychiatric center in the country. [DONATE NOW]( [Beit Micha children]( Children and teens attend the clinic closer to their home once a week, to receive the therapies and treatments they need, while they are also supported by teachers who make sure that they do not fall behind in school. The rest of the week, the [hospital’s staff and social workers]( work with the young patients’ regular schools to support their staff and make sure they know how to properly help the students who are struggling with mental health issues. "Ziv trains the teachers to handle problems such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders," Dr. Yatzkar highlighted. "This is really important because schools usually find it hard to deal with these challenges." The hospital has worked with some 88 schools. [I WANT TO SUPPORT ZIV]( "They keep us informed on how the child is doing and if they miss a day, they alert us, so that we can check what happened," Dr. Yatzkar said. "After we work with a school on one student, if they have a second student struggling, they know what to do." At the same time, Ziv’s social workers remain in touch with students and families, to check that everything proceeds well and that the children and teens are also participating in the afternoon social activities they are part of. "Each patient has to be involved in afternoon activities in their communities - programs like sports, arts, music and more - and the social workers are responsible for helping families choose the most suitable option and make sure the children attend," Dr. Yatzkar said. The program has been running for 13 years and has proven to be so successful that the Health Ministry is working [on exporting it to the rest of the country](. [Read the rest of the article here >>]( [DONATE NOW]( © 2023 Jpost Inc. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Jerusalem Post, HaAhim MiSlavuta St 15, 6701026 Tel-Aviv, Israel