KEREN GEFEN – Mind-Body Fertility
Dr. Karen Friedman, Director
karenfs@netvision.net.il
Cell: 972-544-601-689
http://kerengefen.org/
Activity Report: February - June 2015
Keren Gefen is a non-profit organization that supports and facilitates Mind-Body Fertility projects
in Israel. The main project that it funds is Rimon Mind-Body Fertility Center at Hadassah Hospital
Mt. Scopus that was established in October 2013. The Rimon Center offers a wide variety of MindBody treatments at no cost for women undergoing fertility treatments. The Center offers state-ofthe-art methods that are being used in hospitals worldwide based on a successful model of
operation that was developed at Harvard University. Keren Gefen is funded entirely on donations
including a multi- year grant from the Stanley & Joyce Black Family Foundation (Los Angeles), the
Pratt Foundation (Australia) and private donations from individuals in United States, Canada and
Israel.
It is well known that women undergoing fertility treatments often suffer from anxiety, depression,
tension, low self-esteem and tension in their relationship with their partner. Research shows that
these stressful emotional states lower the fertility potential of women. With this in mind, it is
clear that psychological support is an important factor in the treatment of women undergoing
fertility treatment. Keren Gefen is unique in its ability to support women in a variety of
approaches. Following is a description of Gefen’s activities over the past five months:
1.
Mind-Body Workshop: The Mind-Body workshops focus on teaching women
how to reduce stress and lower depression. The participants learn how to better cope
with their daily lives while going through fertility treatments, and the group itself serves
as an important support system.
The workshops take place at Hadassah Mt. Scopus and in other locations in the greater
Jerusalem area. On average five workshops take place weekly (10 participants per group,
for 10-12 weeks). Two new workshops have been successfully piloted:

Workshop for men with fertility challenges.

Workshop for women considering Egg Donation
2.
Yoga for Fertility Workshop: Workshops take place weekly. We have recently
piloted a Yoga – Journaling mini-series.
3.
Specialized Workshops for Communities with Specific Needs: The MindBody Project for the Haredi community in cooperation with The Toras
Hamishpacha Institute was created to help fertility challenged men and women in
this community, and has been adapted to be sensitive their needs. It consists of
separate groups for women and for men; Mind-Body workshops for women,
Mind-Body workshops for men, as well as Restorative Fertility Yoga for Haredi
women. The workshops are supervised and accompanied by the professional
staff of Toras Hamishpacha Institute.
4.
Mentoring Fertility Therapists: The Gefen staff has begun mentoring and
supervising professional therapists in order to support them in becoming fertility
therapists in the Gefen organization.
5.
“Boker Tov Rimon”: Rimon has a staff member available in the IVF waiting area
three mornings a week from 7:30-9:30 - the time when women arrive for their blood tests
and ultrasounds. The staff member uses this time to connect with the women, explain
Center services, and cultivate a warm, caring and consistent relationship. Rimon staff
consults with the nurses and doctors regarding particular patients that might benefit from
Rimon services. Once a week there is a coffee/tea station, and a musician plays
therapeutic music, to lower stress and create a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere.
6.
New Projects: We are currently piloting two new projects:

“Transfer with Tranquility”: The process of embryo transfer is a very special
and sensitive experience. We offer individual sessions before Embryo Transfer in
order to help women relax and find inner tranquility. In this session the focus is
on breathing, guided imagery, and relaxation.

“Pagimoms” – Outreach to mothers in preemie unit: Focus on relaxation of
mothers of premature babies. This relaxation and sense of calm flows over to
their babies. Research shows, the less stress the mothers carry, the more the
preemies thrive. There is a higher ratio of premature babies born to women
undergoing fertility treatments.
7.
Outreach: We have made contact with several community organizations including
various Israeli health care services. In all of our meetings, our goal was to establish a
relationship and provide information that will encourage them to send women to
workshops at the Rimon Center. We also encouraged them to consider offering our MindBody Fertility Workshops at their own organizations. The fertility clinic at Mt. Scopus is
the only center in Jerusalem that provides holistic care for women – both fertility
treatment and Mind-Body therapies.
8.
Research: We are in the beginning stages of a research project that will examine
the implications of Mind-Body treatments on women undergoing fertility treatment from
the various sectors of Israeli society. We contacted Dr. Ali Domar from Harvard University
who is ready to engage in a joint research project with our organization. Dr. Domar is the
leading world expert on the topic of Mind-Body treatments and its influence on fertility
potential. Dr. Meni Koslowsky, Head of the Psychology Department at Bar-Ilan University,
is an active research partner. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Psychological
Association and of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and has been
a Visiting Professor in a number of American universities.
9.
Abstract Publication: Abstract "Gefen, A Unique Multicultural, Multimodal
(CBT/Mind Body) Fertility Treatment Paradigm.”, has been accepted as an oral
presentation at EABCT 2015 Jerusalem.