Fifth Element
A Sanctuary for Trauma Recovery, Built Around Patients and Their Families
Nestled within the eucalyptus grove on Sheba’s campus, The Fifth Element offers nature-based healing to support individuals and families coping with the aftermath of deeply scarring traumatic experiences.
Recovery Reimagined
The mission of The Fifth Element’s clinical team is to provide a comprehensive, community-centered path to recovery for patients and the families who stand beside them.
Its integrative model is built upon five pillars: mind-body therapeutic practices, emotional regulation and resilience-building, community and peer support, healing in nature, and rehabilitation and reintegration into daily life, education, and employment.
Treatment at The Fifth Element combines nature-based practice with somatic regulation therapies, evidence-based psychotherapy, and peer and family support. This integrative approach treats the whole person, not just the symptoms, restoring safety and connection as patients return to normal life.
For many participants, the embrace of a new community, combined with multidisciplinary experts working in tandem to answer each patient’s individual needs, is central to what makes recovery possible.
“What began as a small initiative supporting survivors and evacuees has grown into a broader network designed to help thousands of Israelis recover and return to daily life. They protected us; now it is our turn to support them.”
– Udi Angel, Founder
Healing Rooted in Nature and Community
Treatment sessions at The Fifth Element take place within nature, with proximity to medical facilities ensuring continuity of care.
Peer-group support and therapeutic activities such as music, gardening, and woodworking work to build a wider circle of healing, supported by dedicated groups that run parallel with treatment for family members.
Somatic and body-based regulation practices, including trauma-sensitive yoga, tai chi, qigong, acupuncture, shiatsu, and reflexology, are combined with evidence-based therapy led by psychologists and social workers.
Finally, reintegration gently restores engagement with family, social, and professional life, reflecting the center’s view that recovery extends beyond the individual to every part of daily living.
Testimonials
“We are in a place where it is possible to breathe. You can look into each other’s eyes. It is a pillar in my life, of families like me. When I meet a mother who is like me, I really don’t need to speak or tell.”
“The fifth element for me is actually a platform. The body and mind are connected together and yoga’s ability to address these two components and reach the points of trauma within the mind and address them.”
Case Studies
From groundbreaking research to complex clinical cases, discover how Sheba Psychiatry is translating scientific discovery into better patient care.
Simulation Training for Psychiatric Clinicians | MSR
At Sheba, MSR – Israel Center for Medical Simulation uses in-depth simulations and trained actors to safely prepare mental health care teams to provide uncompromising care in challenging clinical situations.
Rethinking Inpatient Child Psychiatry: How Sheba Integrated ABA Into Their Care Model
When Sheba Psychiatry opened a 12-bed child psychiatry ward within Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital in July 2021, it introduced the first program in Israel to formally integrate applied behavior analysis (ABA) in a psychiatric inpatient setting.
Real-Time Insight, Under Study: PSYNUS and the Science of Momentary Assessment
At Sheba Psychiatry, clinicians are developing and testing the PSYNUS research tool to explore whether real-time patient input can enhance care during psychiatric hospitalization.
Sheba Psychiatry
articles
The Chava Center’s Virtual Ward: Hospital-Level Care From the Comfort of Home
At Sheba Psychiatry’s Chava Center Reproductive Psychiatry Unit, headed by Dr. Vered Bar, an innovative virtual-care pathway demonstrates that effective perinatal mental health treatment does not always require a hospital stay.
Sheba’s Immersive Approach to Canine-Assisted Mental Health Care
At Sheba Psychiatry within Sheba Medical Center, therapy dogs are not occasional visitors. They are integrated into the clinical environment, working directly with trained care teams to support patients in psychiatric and physical rehabilitation.
Transforming Mental Healthcare Through Video-Based Staff Training
Aggressive behavior remains one of the greatest challenges in inpatient child mental healthcare, affecting patients, families, and healthcare professionals alike. Research from Sheba Medical Center, recognized by Newsweek among the World’s Best Hospitals, demonstrates how structured video-based debriefing can transform real clinical encounters into opportunities for continuous learning, helping teams strengthen their confidence, decision-making, and approach to managing aggression.
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Return to the main page to explore Sheba Psychiatry’s integrated work across medical excellence, research, innovation, and patient and family experience.
