Mental Illness
Hebrew source: נפגעי נפש
From All Rights (Kol-Zchut) (www.kolzchut.org.il)
This portal contains information regarding the various services and rights which those disabled by and struggling with mental illness are entitled to.
The Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill in the Community Law is concerned with the rehabilitation of the mentally ill and their integration into the community to enable them to achieve functional independence and quality of life as much as possible, while preserving their dignity in the spirit of The Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. The Department of Rehabilitation Services in the Ministry of Health's Mental Health Division is responsible for the implementation of this law.
For a concise guide to the rights and services related to mental illness, see: Rights Guide for the Mentally Ill and Their Families.
Psychological and Psychiatric Treatment
- Psychiatric Hospitalization
- Outpatient (Ambulatory) Treatment of Mental Illness
- Urgent compulsory testing of the mentally ill
- Non-urgent compulsory testing of the mentally ill
- Compulsory institutional psychiatric testing of a minor
- Compulsory clinical psychological testing of a minor
- Psychiatric testing of a suspected criminal
- Psychotherapy
- Treatment Frameworks for Mental Illness and Addiction
Other Medical Treatments
Disability - The National Insurance Institute
- Establishing Disability for Persons With Mental Illness
- Disability Pension and Related Benefits
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Educational Assistance for People with Disability
- Disabled child benefit for children with mental disabilities
- Disabled Child Benefit and Related Benefits
- IADL Test to Check Special Services Benefit (Attendance Allowance) Eligibility
Rehabilitation Basket - The Ministry of Health
Housing
- Halfway house for the mentally ill
- Sheltered housing for the mentally ill
- Assistance purchasing basic household appliances and furnishings for housing for the mentally ill
- Rental assistance for the mentally ill
- Tene House - Sheltered housing services for Ethiopian immigrants with mental illness
- Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) Discount for People with Disabilities
- Housing for People with Disabilities
- Matriculation examination (Bagrut) accommodations in the special education system
- Education completion options for the mentally ill
- Post-secondary education preparatory program and studies for eligible rehabilitation basket recipients
- Academic mentoring for the mentally ill
- Accommodations in order to integrate children with disabilities into trips and programs outside of school
Employment
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Educational Assistance for People with Disability
- Vocational rehabilitation club for the mentally ill
- Sheltered factory for the mentally ill
- Ezer Mizion's sheltered factory for men with mental illness
- Supported employment for the mentally ill
- Consumers as Service Providers Program for employment integration of the mentally ill
- Vocational rehabilitation from Ezer Mizion for women with mental illness
- Ezer Mizion's Sounds of the Soul Band
- "Hed" Group Home Empowerment Program for Community Integration of Youth with Mental Illness
Assistance for Families
- "The Bird of the Soul" center for struggling parents and their children
- Counseling and support for families of the mentally ill
- Counseling for families of the mentally ill from Ezer Mizion
- Rights Guide for Individuals Caring for an Elderly Family Member or Person With Disabilities
- Exemption from payment in public places for the escort of a child or adult with mental disabilities
- Family involvement in a family member's psychiatric hospitalization
- Guide for families of the mentally ill
- Guide for families with mentally ill children and adolescents
Other Rights and Benefits
- Social clubs for the mentally ill
- The Amitim Program for integrating the mentally ill into the community
- The "Community Supporting Independent Living for the Disabled" program
- Support for the mentally ill through Ezer Mizion's Hosen Project
- Ezer Mizion's Life Skills Center for men with mental illness
- Summit - Rehabilitative Sports Center in Jerusalem
- No Queues for People with Emotional Disorders in Public Places
- Exemption from payment in public places for the escort of a child or adult with mental disabilities
- Programs and Services for Religious and Haredi Persons With Mental Illness
- Rehabilitation basket services for victims of sexual abuse by "Slav"
Legal
Military and National Service
Complaints
- Submitting a complaint regarding mental health services
- Submitting a complaint to a medical facility regarding mental health services
- Submitting a complaint to the district psychiatrist regarding mental health services
- Submitting a complaint to the Ministry of Health's Legal Psychiatry Department regarding mental health services provided by the Ministry of Health
- Submitting a complaint regarding mental health rehabilitation services
Guides to Rights and Services
- Rights Guide for the Mentally Ill and Their Families
- Guide for families of the mentally ill
- Guide for families with mentally ill children and adolescents
- Rights Guide for Those Committed in a Psychiatric Ward
- Rights Guide for Those Voluntarily Committed in a Psychiatric Ward
- Rights Guide for Those Involuntarily Committed in a Psychiatric Ward
- Rights Guide for Those Committed in a Psychiatric Ward as Part of Criminal Proceedings
- Guide for working age adults with an injury or illness that has resulted in disability
Aid organizations
- For a comprehensive categorized listing of healthcare organizations offering assistance and support to people with disabilities, see People with Disabilities/Aid Organizations.
- For a comprehensive categorized listing of organizations offering assistance and support related to mental illness, click here.
Government agencies
- The National Council for the Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill in the Community
- The Ministry of Health's Mental Health Department]
- The National Insurance Institute
Court Rulings
- A worker who was fired due to their mental illness is entitled compensation payment
- Family members of disabled people can obtain assistance for housing costs if their disabled family member lives with them
- The criteria for the allocation of public housing to people with disabilities are not discriminatory
- Patients are entitled to have the state provide interpreting services in psychiatric committee hearings pertaining to them
- The psychiatric committee must consider less drastic alternatives prior to deciding in favor of compulsory institutionalization
- The psychiatric committee has the authority to change a sentence of court-ordered institutionalization to compulsory clinical treatment
- A hospitalization order from the district psychiatrist can't be given just because treatment was refused by a court order
- The period of compulsory institutionalization or clinical treatment for someone convicted of a crime may not be longer than the sentence that would have been given to someone who is not mentally ill
- Electroconvulsive therapy can be performed without consent on a person who is in forced psychiatric hospitalization
Laws & Regulations
- The Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill in the Community Law
- The Treatment of the Mentally Ill Law
- Ministry of Health Director's Circular no. 12/2015 - sharing and protecting information regarding mental health.
Additional publications
- Rights Guide for those Struggling - "B'zchut" and "Enosh"
Credits
- Original translation performed by The Shira Pransky Project as part of a grant from The Fellowship Fund.