My son is petrified to take the elevator. He will walk up 15
flights of stairs to avoid it.
My daughter talks freely with all of us at home. In
gan, however, they think she doesn't know how to
speak. Her teacher has never heard her voice.
My husband was present during a terrorist attack. He wasn't
hurt but since the attack he has had trouble concentrating on
his learning, wakes up frequently at night, and often says he
relives the attack.
My yeshiva bochur gets "stuck" in davening. It
takes him two hours to daven Mincha. He constantly
repeats the words again and again for fear that he has not
said something. He also washes netilas yodayim
repeatedly, making his hands red and bleeding.
Behaviors like these used to be viewed as signs of mental
illness. In truth, they are not. They are symptoms of anxiety-
or trauma-related disorders that are both common and
treatable.
Machon Rut-Yad Tzvi, a leader in remedial education and
teacher training for the chareidi public under the direction
of Rabbi Yeshaya Weber, just opened one of Israel's first
clinics for treatment of anxiety- and trauma-related
disorders in the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem. Headed by
Dr. Feige Sorotzkin and Avrohom Ben Yochanan, senior
psychologists who both have more than 30 years experience
working with the chareidi public, this clinic provides
caring, confidential treatment for children, adolescents and
adults.
"Anxieties and phobias used to be considered neurotic
behaviors, but now we know they have a neurological basis,"
says Dr. Sorotzkin. "However, they haven't been identified or
defined properly in the chareidi sector. Ours is one of the
first clinics in Israel to treat these conditions and get
people back to normal functioning as soon as possible."
Thoughts get "Stuck"
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders arise when the brain fails to
send the right signals, Ben Yochanan explains. "A normal
person will ask herself, `Did I take the cholent off the
fire?' After she thinks a moment she remembers, `Yes, I did
take it off the fire.' Then the thought `drops out' of her
mind.
"In an anxiety disorder, however, the all-clear signal
doesn't come through. Thoughts get stuck and play themselves
over again and again. People might daven for a very
long time, kiss a mezuza many times, or check the
cholent over and over again. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
generates anxiety- producing thoughts that the person
relieves by doing repetitive behaviors."
Fear of taking the elevator is an example of an anxiety
disorder known as Claustrophobia, one of a host of phobic
behaviors. Elective Mutism is a condition in which a child
knows how to speak -- and in fact may speak easily at home or
with friends -- but he experiences great difficulty and
anxiety when expected to speak in other places.
In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a person's normal ability
to cope with stress is overpowered and disabled by the trauma
of a perceived life-threatening situation.
Approximately two percent of the population suffer from
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders during the course of their
lives, and 1-2 percent of young children experience Elective
Mutism. About 10 percent of the population suffer from phobic
behaviors. The statistics for general anxiety disorders are
even higher.
Quick Return to Normalcy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has proven to be the best and
fastest route to return most people to normal functioning,
according to some experts. What can take one to three years
(or not progress at all) in psychotherapy can be accomplished
successfully in 12 to 16 sessions of Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy.
Both Dr. Sorotzkin and Ben Yochanan have treated children who
were receiving play therapy for years without any alleviation
of their symptoms. After a few months of Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy, these children were back to normal functioning.
Some obsessive compulsive behaviors are hereditary, but
others appear overnight. Recent research has linked the
sudden onset of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders to strep
infection. The body's own antibodies sometimes attack healthy
tissue as well as the diseased tissue, affecting the part of
the brain that produces anxious thoughts.
"One doctor almost laughed me off the phone for suggesting
that a boy's compulsive behavior might be due to a strep
infection," recalls Dr. Sorotzkin. "But when the strep test
came back positive and the doctor treated the strep, the
compulsive behavior completely disappeared."
Since opening this winter, the clinic has received dozens of
personal referrals from people whose children or relatives
display anxiety- or trauma-related behaviors. Virtually every
referral has been right on target. Ben Yochanan credits
increased public awareness to advertisements placed by Machon
Rut in chareidi newspapers, describing symptoms like the ones
at the beginning of this article. Once it can be identified,
it's not something to hide but to treat.
The clinic works closely with leading rabbonim, including
gedolei hador. Rather than work under the supervision
of only one rov, the psychologists consult with whichever
posek the family chooses.
Families also benefit from the combined expertise of two
senior consultants in the field. "Since we work together in
the clinic on the same days, we often call each other in to
get each other's opinion," says Dr. Sorotzkin. "That's a
benefit most people don't have when they see a psychologist."
Dr. Yocheved Berlowitz, a renowned senior psychiatrist, is
also on staff for pharmaceutical consultations.
The new clinic is located at Rechov Strauss 8, Jerusalem,
telephone (02) 500-0728. To make an appointment, call between
3:00-5:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and leave your name
and phone number with the secretary. Within 24 hours a staff
member will return the call to discuss the referral and make
an appointment. All queries are strictly confidential.
