Shaping Mental Health Innovation in Israel
Partnered with:
_edited.png){kind=logo}
.png)
Room A3
11:00 -12:30
Hebrew
Israel’s mental health system faces unprecedented demand, calling for bold, tech-enabled solutions. This session brings together policymakers, health-organization leaders, and innovators to assess progress since October 7 and reimagine the future of mental health care. Participants will explore national strategy, emerging technologies, and real-world insights, culminating in collaborative tables focused on practical opportunities to integrate innovation into care delivery and expand access, personalization, and resilience across the system.
Led by: Nitsan Toussia Cohen, Mental HealthTech Lead & Program Manager, 8400 The Health Network
Opening Remarks
Looking Ahead: Mental Health in Israel 2026
Dr. Gilad Boodenhaimer
Head of the Mental Health Services
Ministry of Health Israel
Digital Transformation in Mental Health Care
Assaf Parker
Head of Technologies, Digital Health
Ministry of Health Israel
Panel: Turning Innovation into Practice: Mental Health Care in Health Organizations
Moderator:
Neomy Schulman
Innovation Manager
Israel Ministry of Health
.jpg)
Dr. Laura Sharoni
Acting Director
Mazor Mental Health Hospital
Dr. Jordan Lewinski
Head of Mental Health Services, Community Division
Clalit Health Services
Liorit Yannai
Head of Social Work & Therapeutic Professions
Former Deputy Chief Innovation Officer
Maccabi Healthcare Services
Fire Side Chat: Precision Tools for Mental Health: Dual-Use Innovation for National Resilience
Dr. Alona Barnea
Head of Neurotechnology Resilience and Rehabilitation
Israel Ministry of Defense Directorate of Defense Research & Development
Dr. Hagai Lalazar
CEO & Co-Founder
Hemispheric
Choose Your Roundtable:
This roundtable explores the benefits, partner-selection considerations, and real-world challenges of cross-sector partnerships in mental health, drawing on the Teva Metaplim Banefesh–Sderot Resilience and Health Innovation Hub collaboration.
Yarden Abarbanel
Support The Soul
Teva
Boaz Yardeni
Co-Founder and Head of Startup Success
Sderot Resilience and Health Innovation Hub
This roundtable explores how innovation and technology can improve safety in psychiatric care, from prevention and real-time intervention to post-incident learning and sustained implementation.
Hoter Yishay-Grapel
Quality Manager, Accreditation Lead & Innovation Process Coordinator
Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center
A co-creation session to ideate creative, actionable solutions for mental health technology implementation challenges.
Inbar Blum
Director, Planning & Development, Growth Division
Israel Innovation Authority
Yael Aberman
CEO
Clear Sky
An inside look at what mental health tech startups need to know to evaluate, enter, and scale in the UK market.
Ronit Applebaum
Healthcare Innovation Lead
UK Israel Tech Hub
Alex Freknel
CEO
Kai.ai
This roundtable explores how Israel can turn cutting-edge psychedelic research into a safe, scalable, and trusted mental-health care model
Talma Hendler, MD PhD.
Director, Institute for Psychedelic Research,
Tel-Aviv University
Chief Medical Scientist, GrayMatters Health
Jackob Nimrod Keynan, PhD
Scientific Manager, Institute for Psychedelic Research
Tel-Aviv University
This roundtable examines how startups and NGOs can design pilots that deliver impact and mature into strategic innovation partnerships.
Gila Tolub
Executive Director
ICAR Collective
Yuval Piluk
Co-Founder
Toko
Maya Goldberg
Co-Founder
Toko
Nurit Yirmiya, Ph.D.
Prof. of Clinical and Developmental Psychology,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Otef Lev
.jpeg)
%20(1).jpg)
.jpeg)
