People struggling with mental health issues are not alone! Use this page to learn about services, rights and benefits
Living with a mental health issue is not a simple task for the victim and his family but the law can help cope with the burden. In the State of Israel there are unique benefits, services and rights in the various areas of life: health, education, employment, housing, education, social, legal and more. In this portal you will find details regarding the rights of victims and their families based on topics as well as focused rights guides.
Please see the list of aid organizations at the bottom of this page.
Guides to Rights and Services
- Mental Health Rights Guide for Patients and Family Members
- Guide for families with mental health issues
- Guide for families with children and adolescents coping with mental health issues
- 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
Psychological and Psychiatric Treatment
- Psychiatric Hospitalization
- Outpatient (Ambulatory) Treatment for Mental Health
- Urgent compulsory testing and mental health issues
- Non-urgent compulsory testing and mental health issues
- 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 Health and Addiction
Other Medical Treatments
Disability - The National Insurance Institute
- Determining Disability for People with Mental Illness
- Disability Pension and Related Benefits
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Educational Assistance for People with Disability
- Disabled child benefit for children with mental health issues
- Disabled Child Benefit and Related Benefits
- IADL Test to Check Special Services Benefit (Attendance Allowance) Eligibility
Rehabilitation Basket - The Ministry of Health
Housing
- Sheltered Housing for those coping with mental health issues
- Sheltered housing for those coping with mental health issues
- Assistance purchasing basic household appliances and furnishings for housing for those coping with mental health issues
- Rental assistance for those coping with mental health issues
- Tene House - Sheltered housing services for Ethiopian immigrants coping with mental health issues
- 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 those coping with mental health issues
- Post-secondary education preparatory program and studies for eligible rehabilitation basket recipients (run by ASHNAV)
- Post-secondary education preparatory program in the context of vocational rehabilitation or the rehabilitation basket for charedi women, (run by ASHNAV)
- Academic mentoring for those coping with mental health issues
- 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 those coping with mental health issues
- Sheltered factory for those coping with mental health issues
- Ezer Mizion's sheltered factory for men coping with mental health issues
- Supported employment for those coping with mental health issues
- Consumers as Service Providers Program for employment integration of those coping with mental health issues
- Vocational rehabilitation from Ezer Mizion for women coping with mental health issues
- Ezer Mizion's Sounds of the Soul Band
- "Hed" Group Home Empowerment Program for Community Integration of Youth coping with mental health issues
Assistance for Families
- "The Bird of the Soul" center for struggling parents and their children
- Counseling and support for families of those coping with mental health issues
- Counseling for families of those coping with mental health issues 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 coping with mental health issues
- Family involvement in a family member's psychiatric hospitalization
- Guide for families of those coping with mental health issues
- Guide for families with children and adolescents coping with mental health issues
Other Rights and Benefits
- Social clubs for those coping with mental health issues
- The Amitim Program for integrating those coping with mental health issues into the community
- Supportive Communities for People with Disabilities
- Support for those coping with mental health issues through Ezer Mizion's Hosen Project
- Ezer Mizion's Life Skills Center for men coping with mental health issues
- 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 health issues
- Programs and Services for Religious and Haredi Persons coping with mental health issues
- Rehabilitation basket services for victims of sexual abuse by "Slav"
Legal
- Guardianship
- Legal representation when compulsorily institutionalized
- Representation by a public defender in criminal proceedings
- Translation of the Psychiatric Committee's Discussions
- Permanent power of attorney for cases in which a person may not be able to make future decisions
- Access to justice - Adjustment of legal proceedings for people with disabilities
- Legal Aid
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
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 health, 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.