Information and rights
While you’re using every last ounce of emotional energy just to cope with your or your loved one’s mental health condition, there are some key concepts that you should know about in order to maximize the resources at your disposal.
Below we have gathered relevant information and links that will allow you quick access to the necessary professional information.
Disability rights
Every Israeli citizen receiving government services is entitled to receive detailed and full information regarding his rights in the framework of the services provided to him. Various personal and social barriers, as well as difficulty in accessing relevant information, can cause you to miss important information about rights and benefits that will help you improve and maximize your quality of life.
For this purpose, we have compiled relevant links providing information about the laws of benefits for people with disabilities, the rights of mental health patients, counseling for their families and special projects in the mental health field.
*General information about mental health: Israel’s Ministry of Health website
*National Health Insurance Law: Israel’s Ministry of Health website
*The Laron Law: Israel’s National Insurance Institute website
*Rehabilitation package (a.k.a. rehabilitation basket) process: Israel’s Ministry of Health website
Mental Health Reform
Mental Health Reform is a very interesting concept that everyone’s hearing about from all sides, and you ask yourself: What is it? Why is it? How does this concern us? Do we benefit from it? What actually changed? Who can help us understand what’s going on here?
We’ll try to sum it up for you concisely: it’s a reform law that went into effect on July 1, 2015 which transferred responsibility for the provision of mental health services from the Ministry of Health to the health funds (known in Israel as kupot cholim). Simply put, the way that it affects you is that the reform caused a massive expansion of mental health services in Israel. This means new clinics opened up with many more mental health professionals, you don’t have to wait as long to get an appointment at a clinic and you have the right to mental health care at minimal or no cost…
From now on, the same way you make an appointment to see a family doctor, you can schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist or mental health professional simply and easily. For more information about the goals of the reform, its implications, regulations and updates, please visit the Ministry of Health website.
Medical Confidentiality
Medical confidentiality, in general, and in the area of mental health in particular, is an essential element without which there can be no basic trust between us. When you are considering seeking help, especially in the sensitive area we’re dealing with, your fear may be so strong, it might even hold you back from calling us. The fear stems from concern: “Will the personal information I divulge remain within the four walls of the therapy room, or might it leak out?
Medical confidentiality is a basic element in the world of medicine in general, and even more so in our organization that strives to help you in the realm of mental wellness that needs more space and privacy than anything else. Your personal life is yours and yours alone and we see it as our most solemn obligation to maintain strict confidentiality of all the information in our possession.
You are also legally entitled to complete confidentiality in all matters relating to information that you transmit to any health professional. For information about medical confidentiality, visit the Ministry of Health website.
