The spread of the Coronavirus is causing international alarm and worry, and we feel is our duty to respond to this current crisis. In light of this unfortunate pandemic, and as part of our understanding that this is a national crisis and emergency, NATAL’s Helpline has extended its services to also support those suffering from anxiety and stress as a result of the spread of the virus in Israel and the uncertainty that it is causing. Just yesterday calls to our Helpline have risen by over 45% in just 24 hours.
In order to be fully compliant with updated guidelines from the Ministry of Health and the Israeli government, NATAL’s Social Therapeutic Club and running groups for PTSD sufferers have been temporarily suspended, the Clinical Unit is providing treatment online, and NATAL’s Multidisciplinary Studies Center has transitioned its courses to learning via live online lectures.
Our mental health professionals are sharing guidelines and materials to help the public remain calm, including crucial tips and relaxation exercises that can help those who are in quarantine/isolation including families with children. `Furthermore, here is a link to a video we have also re-issued to help children relax using the Jacobson method: https://www.safeplace.cet.ac.il/movie/jacobson-relaxing-english-version/
Finally, we created a page in English “Creating your Safe Place: coping with your concerns during the Coronavirus outbreak” highlighting some of the materials created in NATAL’s Community Resilience Unit in order to cater to the large amounts of anxiety the virus is causing, feel free to follow our page which will be updated continuously:
During these hard times, we send our thoughts and prayers to everyone around the world. Please stay safe.
