BOG 2024: Dolansky Suicide Research and Prevention Program Launched

Tel Aviv University (TAU) inaugurated the Charles, Evelyne and Sandra Dolansky Research and Treatment Program for Suicide Prevention during this year’s international Board of Governors meeting. 

The Program will bring together six expert researchers from the School of Psychological Sciences over the coming five years. Their mission: To redress the current lack of effective medication for treating depression and suicidal ideation via several complementary activities. Aims include pursuing research aimed at identifying and developing novel treatments; testing and administering the treatments among patients at the dedicated new trauma clinic at TAU’s National Center for Traumatic Stress & Resilience; raising awareness of the Program’s activities among the broader mental health community and the general public, as well as among the TAU student population; and collaborating with colleagues at the Douglas Hospital in Canada, which is affiliated with McGill University. 

“The Program is vitally important for Israel and the world,” said TAU President Ariel Porat, “as the incidence of suicide rises while the age of the victims gets younger and younger. Moreover, as Israel faces an unprecedented wave of traumatized citizens following the October 7 attacks, the need to prevent potential cases of suicide becomes even more urgent.”  

The Program was made possible through the vision of Jeffrey Katz, Executive Director of the Charles, Evelyne and Sandra Dolansky Foundation, based in Montreal, Canada. Katz explained that the idea to launch the Program came about after he heard about three young members of the Montreal Jewish community who had tragically taken their own lives and was deeply affected.  

“I thought that we must do something to remove the stigma, the anger, the bullying – in order to make life easier for people and spread the message that there’s no shame in depression or anxiety or hollowness, and that it’s OK not to be OK,” said Katz.  

Katz is an engaged member of the Montreal Jewish community, is closely affiliated with TAU’s Canadian Friends association, and works with several local NGOs including Bnei Brith Canada and Just for Kids. The Dolansky Foundation has supported other important projects on the TAU campus, including the Iron Swords Emergency Fund and the Periphery Scholars Program. 

The Program is headed by Prof. Amit Lazarov, Head of the Clinical Program at TAU’s School of Psychological Sciences, while Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, Director of the National Center for Traumatic Stress & Resilience, will supervise the provision of treatment at the clinic.