Schneider Children’s recently introduced a unique program for children, the only one of its kind for the treatment of psychosomatic disorders, during which therapy is provided for coping with various conditions such as: pain and suffering for which there is no medical support, obsessive hair extraction, obsessive scratching, chewing clothes, anxiety phobias, fears and phobias, involuntary movements (tics) and other diseases that are affected by stress and anxiety. The objective of clinical therapy is to change the child’s attitude towards the problem and thus become involved in and influence the change in his condition.

Psychosomatic medicine is a clinical field which aims to understand the importance of the link between the body and the soul during the development of a physical disease or disorder. The relationship between the body and soul is explained in psychological jargon as internal emotional conflicts that are expressed by the body whereby the nervous, endocrine and immune systems are influenced by outside events. Today it is accepted that there is a link between emotional conditions such as stressful and pressurized situations and physiological reactions that can cause symptoms in various organs in the body.

The psychosomatic disorders program is coordinated by psychologist Andres Conichevski, and operates within the Anxiety Clinic at Schneider Children’s which forms part of the Department for Psychological Medicine. Clinical staff is comprised of psychologists and psychiatrists who integrate methods such as hypnosis and biofeedback with targeted and short-term psychological therapies. The combination represents a unique therapeutic model found to be the most effective for treating psychosomatic problems in children and adolescents. Therapy is aimed at children of all ages and is provided for a fee.

For further information, kindly contact the Psychosomatic Disorders Clinic,
Tel: 972-3-9253186, or write andresc@clalit.org.il


January 2010