Culture-Sensitive Clinical Psychology
The Integrated Clinic for Communication Disorders and Culture-Sensitive Clinical Psychology
The Integrated Clinic caters to the critical need for professional, culture-sensitive clinical training and training settings for Achva students in the fields of Psychology and Communication Disorders in Israel’s southern region. It answers, simultaneously, the urgent need for proper, inclusive, timely and affordable clinical treatment in both fields for thousands of children, youths, and adults from the lowest socio-economic and marginalized communities in Israel’s southern region – a region most affected by lack of professionals in these fields.
The Clinic and the activities therein promote higher education for minorities from Israel’s southern region, the majority of whom are first-generation-to-higher education. The advancement of these students intends to create a massive transformation in the number of qualified clinicians in the region. The Clinic, to be established in 2023, will open its doors to vulnerable communities, offering the highest quality of care in a professional, accessible, culture-sensitive setting. With support of the Ministry of Health and HMOs, the Clinic will offer subsidies to those who otherwise cannot afford treatment and will drastically raise the standard of care in the region, impacting hundreds to thousands of people in the first three years alone.
The program aims to benefit two major sets of populations: the first are Achva students, primarily coming from low socio-economic, marginalized populations in Israel, including Bedouin, Ethiopian, and Ultra-Orthodox (Haredim) undergraduates and graduates working towards their degrees in Psychology or Communication Disorders. It also aims to serve the therapeutic needs of our students, who, as described abroad, come from extremely humble financial background and can hardly afford psychotherapy. Nearly all students enrolled in our MA psychology programs are first-generation-to-academia from underprivileged towns and villages, including third-generation Jews of Sephardic and Mizrahi decent. They are expected to serve communities in the southern region, creating a ripple effect that reaches thousands of individuals from these populations.
The clinic’s staff includes senior clinical psychologists and communication pathologists who will train and assist practicum students and construct therapeutic methodologies respective to each field.