Welcome Note

It gives me great pleasure to present to you, the stimulating program that will take place at the Conference on the 24-25th of September, 2008 at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Our Center, the BGU Center for Women's Health Studies and Promotion has taken the vanguard in introducing a rich and multidisciplinary approach to the prevention, examination and treatment of women's mental health issues with an emphasis on the development of positive mental health resources among Israel's diverse populations.

The conference this year will be made up of two days – the first (Sept. 24th, 2008) will be dedicated to scientific presentations that focus on the development of the empirical basis for women's mental health treatment. The extraordinary wealth of presentations in such areas as: coping with challenges of motherhood and work, eating disorders, dealing with domestic violence, multi-cultural approaches to women's mental health offer exciting presentations to all professionals from the array of disciplines.

The second day will concentrate on teaching new therapeutic skills and consists entirely of workshops and training sessions with Israel's top mental health professionals. In order to make the experience valuable, we have asked researchers in the field to attend in order to develop a dialogue that may eventuate into clinical research on the specific skill. This promises to be a most unusual experience that can capitalize on the connection between the field and academia that is the hallmark of the work we do in the Center. This knowledge base will serve us here in the Negev in the work of the newly established women's counseling program – Isha Be-Shela that opened this month at our Center.

We are very pleased to be able to host Prof. Judith Worell, perhaps the most informed and dedicated researcher in the area of building an empirical basis for the treatment of psychological problems and issues among women and adolescents. Not only are we looking forward to her plenary talk but she will be available to meet researchers and practitioners on the second day of the conference, Sept. 25th.

The two previous conferences held in 2002, 2003 focused on new perspectives and innovative models in women's mental health and the challenges facing young women as they matured in the complex Israeli reality. This conference builds on the accumulated knowledge from the first two conferences which cumulated in the publication of Shimri Nafshech, "Guard your Soul" – Mental Health among Women in Israel, edited by Rachel Lev-Weisel, Julie Cwikel and Nurit Barak. It is our hope that the excellent presentations at the conference in 2008 will form the basis of Shimri Nafshech #2.

Finally, we are very excited about the opening of the Photo Exhibit on Women's Coping in the Reality of Israel – 2008. The visual pictures presented by these talented women photographers can help to illustrate and typify the unique problems that Israeli women face. We are positive that all those who attend the conference will find inspiration in seeing these amazing photographs.

We look forward to welcoming each and every one of you at the conference.
Prof. Julie Cwikel