To help children and their families deal with the current situation, Bar-Ilan is creating six Teddy Bear Resilience Centres, located throughout Israel. The Centres are based on Bar-Ilan’s hugely successful Teddy Bear Hospital project that has helped hundreds of children and families reduce anxiety about medical treatment.
As part of the Teddy Bear Resilience Centre, parents, children and bears participate in experiential activities to reduce stress and anxiety and increase emotional resilience.
Bar-Ilan students of medicine, psychology and social work give voice to the bears and help them manage their anxieties and fear.
For older children who relate more to technology than to teddies, portable bio-feedback machines will allow them to play “computer games” while training their minds to cope with trauma.
