{"id":445441,"date":"2026-01-29T15:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/445441\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:54:21","slug":"israels-mental-health-crisis-fuels-ai-powered-platform-bridging-months-long-wait-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/445441\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s mental health crisis fuels AI-powered platform bridging months-long wait for"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s mental health system has been under growing strain for years, a crisis that has sharply intensified since the October 7 war. As more people seek psychological help, waiting times in the public system have stretched to months, sometimes longer.<\/p>\n

Into that gap steps a new Israeli development called WellPlay, a digital self-support platform based on psychodrama principles and enhanced by artificial intelligence. Its goal is not to replace therapy, but to provide structured, guided emotional support during the most vulnerable period: the long wait before treatment begins.<\/p>\n

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Waiting times in the public system have stretched to months, sometimes longer <\/p>\n

(Photo: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

The platform recently placed among the top 10 initiatives in a health innovation competition run by the Reboot Forum in cooperation with Yedioth Ahronoth Group and ynet, raising a central question: how can immediate mental health support be made accessible when the system cannot keep up with demand?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea came directly from working with patients and confronting waiting lists,\u201d said Aviv Kushnir, founder and CEO of WellPlay. A researcher and therapist with a decade of experience in Israel\u2019s public mental health system, Kushnir recalls a patient he encountered in 2021 who waited nearly eight months for therapy while in severe emotional distress.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring that time, her condition deteriorated,\u201d he said. \u201cShe eventually admitted herself to a closed psychiatric ward at Ichilov Hospital. When I met her after her discharge, she reconstructed the three months before hospitalization. She had no access to private therapy. That sense of helplessness was devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Kushnir, the case was not exceptional but emblematic of a system under prolonged strain. Mental distress, he said, is no longer marginal. Demand has surged while the public system struggles to provide timely, continuous care.<\/p>\n

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Aviv Kushnir, founder and CEO of WellPlay<\/p>\n

He points to three major pressure points: the 2015 mental health reform, which improved accessibility but did not prepare the system for a dramatic rise in demand; the COVID-19 pandemic, which deepened loneliness and depression; and the trauma of October 7, which has further overwhelmed services.<\/p>\n

\u201cA broken leg can\u2019t wait months for treatment,\u201d Kushnir said. \u201cA psychological fracture is often just as acute.\u201d<\/p>\n

WellPlay is built on psychodrama, a therapeutic method developed in the early 20th century by psychiatrist Jacob Levy Moreno. Unlike talk therapy, psychodrama emphasizes action, visualization and real-time encounters with emotional conflicts.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of talking about anxiety or depression, the patient meets it,\u201d Kushnir explained. \u201cYou imagine your anxiety as a person. How does it look? What does it say to you? And what do you want to say back?\u201d<\/p>\n

WellPlay translates these principles into a guided digital experience lasting about 20 to 25 minutes. Using a tablet, laptop or smartphone, users move through five stages: focusing on a specific issue, emotional warm-up, scene-building, dialogue with the problem and role reversal, where the user responds from the perspective of the distress itself.<\/p>\n

An animated scene is created, allowing a tangible, visual encounter with the emotional difficulty. Users record their responses, listen back and engage in a structured, guided exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to stop deterioration and restore a sense of agency,\u201d Kushnir said. \u201cPsychodrama is based on the idea that people have the capacity to heal themselves. We help them reconnect with that strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kushnir stresses that WellPlay is not intended to replace human therapy. \u201cIt\u2019s a bridge,\u201d he said. \u201cA critical one. People can go months without seeing anyone. This tool helps hold them during that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The platform may also complement ongoing therapy, providing additional support between weekly sessions, or serve as an anchor after treatment ends, when public coverage expires but emotional needs persist.<\/p>\n

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The platform allows patients to confront themselves <\/p>\n

(Photo: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

A pilot program was completed at Shalvata Mental Health Center, followed by expansion into five family clinics in northern Israel. Family physicians, Kushnir noted, now see a sharp rise in patients presenting psychological distress, about 30 percent of visits since October 7.<\/p>\n

The idea is that doctors could prescribe WellPlay digitally as an interim measure, potentially preventing deterioration and reducing pressure on psychiatric services.<\/p>\n

Early feedback has been encouraging. Participants logged in two to three times a week on average, exceeding expectations. Some reported feeling more comfortable sharing sensitive thoughts digitally than face-to-face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe platform doesn\u2019t give answers,\u201d Kushnir said. \u201cIt helps people meet themselves in a safe, empowering way. AI supports the process, but it doesn\u2019t replace human insight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wider use within Israel\u2019s largest health fund is planned for next year, with pilot discussions underway in the United States for 2028.<\/p>\n

As Israel grapples with an escalating mental health crisis, WellPlay represents a growing effort to rethink how care is delivered when time itself becomes a risk factor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s mental health system has been under growing strain for years, a crisis that has sharply intensified since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[64,63,137,514,515],"class_list":{"0":"post-445441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}