Wuste Tsega
Center for Culturally Adapted Psychotherapy and Life-Context Care
Wuste Tsega is a non-profit Public Benefit Company (PBC) providing culturally adapted mental health services for Ethiopian-Israelis. Our name, meaning “grace that comes from within,” is inspired by a sacred healing spring that holds deep significance in the heritage of the Ethiopian Jewish community.
Founded in 2018, we offer counseling, assessment, and therapeutic services that are responsive to the cultural backgrounds and life experiences of Ethiopian-Israelis. Through our work, we promote resilience, emotional well-being, and healing. We also train mental health professionals and partner with organizations across Israel to advance culturally adapted care. Our vision is a mental health system where every person receives care that respects their culture, identity, strengths, and lived experience.
Founder and Director of the Center
Ms. Yeshitu Shmuel
Ms. Yeshitu Shmuel holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Tel Aviv University, is a holistic therapist, and has extensive experience working in psychiatric hospitals. She is a sought-after therapist and lecturer in the field of culturally adapted psychotherapy and life-context-oriented care. Alongside her works a team of consultants and therapists trained in the center’s therapeutic approach.
The Challenge
The Ethiopian Israeli community is a community with deep roots, inner strength, and strong mutual support. It is a community that has undergone a complex Aliya journey from Ethiopia to Israel and has faced alienation, racism, and integration challenges, yet has never lost hope.
Research has found that the rate of psychiatric hospitalization among Ethiopian Israelis is 2.5 times higher than their proportion in the general population. One of the central reasons for this is the community’s lack of trust in the healthcare system, which often leads individuals to avoid seeking support and preventive mental health care before their condition worsens.
This lack of trust stems, in part, from the complex relationship that has developed over the years between the community and Israel’s welfare and mental health systems, as well as from the absence of care that is culturally, linguistically, and contextually adapted to the lived experiences of Ethiopian Israelis. A community that has already endured trauma during the Aliya journey from Ethiopia to Israel, alongside ongoing challenges of integration and adaptation, is now also coping with the ongoing security situation and a deeply complex reality. Beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic, and further intensified by the war and its consequences, psychological distress has significantly increased, creating an urgent need for immediate, accessible, and culturally adapted mental health support in order to prevent further deterioration.
Our Activities
Assessment and Therapy
The center operates five clinics providing culturally adapted and life-context-oriented therapy (in Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Kiryat Gat, and Sderot). Each year, hundreds of therapeutic services are provided, including individual, couples, and group therapy sessions, ethno-psychiatric assessments, and parent guidance. Therapy and related services are offered in Hebrew, Amharic, Tigrinya, and English in order to create an authentic and open space for expression.
Knowledge Development and Therapist Training
We train therapists and provide professional supervision in our therapeutic method, in collaboration with “Nevet” (the research laboratory of the School of Social Work at the Hebrew University) and the University of Haifa.
Telephone Counseling and
Referral Center
Providing guidance and support for individuals and families seeking assistance through Israel’s public mental health systems. Following the security crisis, the center also opened a multilingual emergency hotline.
Community Outreach and
Accessibility Sessions
Providing the Ethiopian community with information and greater accessibility regarding mental health treatment within Israel’s healthcare system.
Organizational Consultation and Support
Training and guiding professionals from organizations working with diverse populations within Israeli society.
Building Partnerships
We create collaborations with institutions and organizations in the field in order to disseminate our model, broaden public discourse, and encourage change among decision-makers.
To date, the center has provided thousands of culturally adapted and life-context-oriented therapy sessions, trained dozens of therapists in its therapeutic method, and reached hundreds of community members through outreach and accessibility programs. Our therapy services and other activities are subsidized and financially accessible in order to ensure that cost does not prevent individuals from receiving support.
Looking Ahead
There is still a long road ahead. We aspire to expand access to therapy through our unique therapeutic approach while continuing to train additional therapists in culturally adapted and life-context-oriented care. The COVID-19 pandemic, the Iron Swords War, Operation Rising Lion, and the ongoing security situation have significantly increased the demand for emergency mental health support, and we expect these needs to continue growing within the Ethiopian Israeli community and across Israeli society.
Wuste Tsega is advancing its therapeutic model to provide accurate diagnosis and culturally adapted care. Through this work, the organization aims to reduce unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations, prevent psychological deterioration among vulnerable individuals, strengthen emotional resilience, and build trust between Ethiopian Israelis and Israel’s healthcare system.