Association

Professional Training

• About Misholim
• The Therapeutic Approach of Misholim
  - Where Does Therapy Takes Place?
  - What is Special About Misholim?
  - The Staff at Misholim
  - Referral of Clients - The Therapeutic Process at Misholim for Client and Family
  - Other Details
• Who Funds Misholim?
• Donations
• Links

Misholim ("Pathways" in Hebrew) was established in 1980 as a not-for-profit association under the auspices of Y.H.T. (the Israel Association of Art Therapists), and with the assistance of the National Psychological Service. Misholim provides group and individual therapy through the arts.

The children and youths who come to Misholim for therapy have normal levels of intelligence, but suffer from emotional distress and low self-esteem. All these children and youths face difficulties in building interpersonal relations with adults and/or children. Most of them attend regular kindergartens and schools around Jerusalem.

Misholim is the only center in Israel that provides therapy for children and adolescents facing this particular problem. The therapy is provided through a unique program of group psychotherapy using the arts.

Misholim is situated in Jerusalem, and is attended by children from throughout the city, as well as from further afield.

Where Does Therapy Takes Place?
Misholim operates in two public bomb shelters that have been adapted for work with children.
One shelter, situated on Hatayasim St. in southern Jerusalem, serves as the base for the younger age groups (4-10). These groups meet twice a week for two-hour therapy sessions.
The adolescent groups (age 10-18) meet at the second bomb shelter, situated in downtown Jerusalem. The adolescents are divided into sub-groups based on age, and meet once a week for two hours of therapy.

What is Special About Misholim?
Misholim's unique therapeutic approach is designed to help improve the child's self-image and promote self-esteem through a group representing family and society.
Most of the children who come to Misholim join a small group of six children. Each group is counseled by two art therapists ? a man and a woman. The children in each group are of varying ages, in order to create a family-type model.
Most of the children who come to Misholim join a small group of six children. Each group is counseled by two art therapists ? a man and a woman. The children in each group are of varying ages, in order to create a family-type model.
In these groups, the children and youths express themselves through play and story-telling, and through diverse art activities: drawing, sculpture, music, drama and movement.
Each session includes unstructured personal time, as well as structured group activities. The session also includes a group discussion in which the children express emotions and thoughts they find difficult to articulate outside the therapeutic framework. The older children in the group express themselves more freely, and thus help new children to join in the conversation.
Groups are ongoing in nature. Children leave and enter groups on the basis of therapeutic need.Participation in a group lasts from one to three years.
The therapeutic space is equipped with a wide range of expressive tools, including theater puppets, costumes, musical instruments, and equipment for sculpting, drawing and movement.

The Staff at Misholim
The therapists at Misholim are specialists in the field of art therapy. During the course of their work at the center, the therapists receive guidance in group therapy and dynamic psychotherapy. The therapeutic staff are accompanied by supervisors in two fields ? group art therapy and individual clinical therapy.

Referral of Clients
Clients are referred to Misholim by the psychological services, school counselors and clinical psychologists at public mental health clinics, as well as by private clinical therapists.
The body making the referral asks the parents to contact Misholim, initiating the referral process. The parents then provide Misholim with documents detailing their child's condition. The director of Misholim reviews the referrals and decides which cases are appropriate for group therapy.
Two intake meetings then take place: the first with the parents, and the second with the parents and child. In the case of adolescent clients, the second meeting is with the client only.
Following these meetings, the group staff determine whether the child/adolescent will be able to integrate in the existing group and benefit from its therapeutic approach. In some cases, clients are accepted for individual therapy at Misholim in preparation for group therapy following group therapy or as a separate therapeutic track.

The Therapeutic Process at Misholim for Client and Family
During the course of therapy at Misholim, one of the therapists in the client's group also works with his/her family, providing a bridge of understanding between the client and his/her parents. The therapeutic approach is systemic and holistic: with the parents' consent, the therapist consults with all those who work with the child or adolescent.
In the therapeutic sessions, the therapists encourage the children to use diverse tools in order to express the difficulties they experience with themselves and their surroundings. Clients are encouraged to acknowledge their difficulties and cope with them without closing in on themselves, and to express themselves without recourse to violence. Children and adolescents employ various means in order to gain experience in interpersonal contact.
As the therapeutic process progresses, significant changes are seen in the children's self-image. They acquire social skills enabling them to take part in family and social life, and to realize their abilities and talents. The therapeutic process ends with a structured process of separation.

Maintaining Client Confidentiality
During the entire therapeutic process, Misholim respects and observes full confidentiality regarding the clients and their families.

Calendar
The therapeutic process at Misholim follows the Israeli school calendar. Activities do not take place during school vacations.

Cost of Treatment at Misholim
The cost of treating one child per month is 1,800 NIS (approximately $ 400). The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs all provide modest subsidies, with the result that the maximum monthly charge is 850 NIS (approximately $ 185) per child.
Payments are based on a sliding scale. A committee at Misholim awards subsidies for therapy according to applications submitted by the parents. These subsidies are possible thanks to the support of the Jerusalem Foundation.

Misholim is an independent not-for-profit organization. Therapeutic policy is set by the association's voluntary board.
Misholim receives funding from governmental, municipal and private sources:

• The parents of clients pay a fee for therapy according to a sliding scale. These fees do not cover the full cost of therapy.
• The Ministry of Education provides an annual allocation to Misholim.
• The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (through the Municipality of Jerusalem) purchase services from Misholim.
• The Rehabilitation Department of the Municipality of Jerusalem.
• The Jerusalem Foundation provides subsidies for a number of children whose families are unable to pay the full fee for therapy.
• Private foundations and donors also provide assistance.

Misholim would like to express it sincere appreciation for all those who make its work possible.

Donations

Gifts to Misholim are tax deductible. Checks should be made out to "Friends of Misholim" and sent directly to our office: 53 Hapalmach St. Jerusalem, 92583, Israel, or to The Bank of Jerusalem, Bank 54, Branch 30, Keren Hayesod 18, Jerusalem, Israel, Account No. 300011764.

In the USA, donations may be given via the PEF - Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, N.Y. 10017. In this case, checks must be made out to the PEF, with an indication that the gift is intended "for Misholim."

• Israel Association for Art and Expressive Therapy (Y.H.T.)
• The Jerusalem Foundation
• The American Art Therapy Association
• Ncata, National Coalition of Art Therapies Associations (USA)
• UJIA- Bench and Bar Committee

Director of Misholim: Elisabeth Chouraqui-Chemla