Thousands of vacancies plague Israel’s public mental health sector, with officials citing inadequate budgeting, burnout and low pay.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Israel’s public mental health system is facing a critical staffing shortage, with an average of 3,200 patients per psychiatrist, the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee was told Monday.
Committee chair MK Michal Waldiger said demand for services from the Defense Ministry, Health Ministry and National Insurance Institute (NII) has surged in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oct. 7 attack and the war period.
Officials described a twofold problem of too many existing positions not being manned and a critical necessity to add more professionals to mental health departments.
Dr. Yael Proaktor of the Adva Center, a policy analysis center, told lawmakers that the public system requires an additional 1,500 clinical psychologists.
She added that 15% of professional positions in psychiatric rehabilitation facilities are currently vacant, contributing to the extreme patient-to-psychiatrist ratio.
Local authorities are also short 1,435 qualified social workers.
“What drives caregivers away from the public service is not just the salary, but the overload that leads to burnout,” said Proaktor.
Although NIS 1.4 billion was allocated to mental health services in 2024–2025, she called it an ad hoc measure and urged stable, long-term budgeting.
“Western European countries have a budget that is twice as large and they don’t have emergencies every two years,” she noted.
Mashi Sandrovitz, head of the NII’s Rehabilitation Division, said her department’s caseload has increased sixfold in recent years, while staffing has only doubled to about 200 social workers.
At the Defense Ministry, the strain is similar.
Ministry representative Millie Schwartzman said some 20,000 newly wounded individuals have been added to the Rehabilitation Division since the war began, but only 30 positions have been added.
“Today we have a little more than 100 workers for 85,000 people,” she said.
Finance Ministry official Ido Hai disputed those figures, saying 215 positions were added in 2024 and that another 250 positions would be phased in over five years beginning in 2025.
Salaries remain a central issue.
About 5,000 public-sector psychologists received an average 40% pay raise at the start of 2025, but wages still lag behind the private sector.
Entry-level psychologists now earn NIS11,000 (about $3,500), which is roughly 75% of what they could earn in the private sector, according to the Economic Research Institute.
The difference is much larger for those with more experience. Public sector experts receive about NIS13,000 per month, roughly half of what these psychologists could make privately.
Public psychiatrists earn significantly more, with monthly salaries ranging from approximately NIS 28,600 for entry-level positions to NIS 48,000 for senior professionals.
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