A new and unique service in Israel was opened for the first time at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center: cognitive-functional group therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The service is headed by occupational therapist, Lihi Kalimi-Itzak, who is in charge of occupational therapy at Hillel Yaffe’s Multiple Sclerosis Clinic. The group will meet once a week for seven weeks and be given effective and practical tools designed to improve cognitive abilities, with emphasis on improving performance of daily activities that are difficult for them.
“Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that generally appears in young people between the ages of 20-40. In recent years, it has been found that in addition to the physical and sensory symptoms, patients frequently report cognitive difficulties at the beginning of the disease. These cognitive symptoms were previously thought to appear later,” said Kalimi-Itzak.
Lihi Kalimi-Itzak providing group instruction to MS patients at Hillel Yaffe
“We regularly see common cognitive effects in those patients. The cognitive areas found to have the most significant changes in MS are memory, information processing speed, executive function (including, planning, problem solving and cognitive flexibility) as well as attention and concentration. Studies have demonstrated that MS patients experience cognitive difficulties and over time may also find it difficult to perform daily activities due to cognitive difficulty, for example, difficulty remembering important tasks, difficulty remaining focused while reading an e-mail/book, and difficulty dividing attention to multitask such as driving a car while listening to the radio. Additionally, their processing speed may be slower, for example difficulty seeing/hearing a certain stimulus and processing it quickly and effectively enough.
Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Dr. Ofir Zmira, stated, “It is an individual disease - every single patient has different symptoms. At the clinic, we provide comprehensive treatment that integrates several therapeutic disciplines to achieve an improvement in the patient's lifestyle, stop the progression of the disease to the extent possible, while teaching patients habits and providing them with special tools for normal everyday behavior.”
“Remember, we’re dealing with young people working regular jobs, who need to maintain a normal routine. The decision to start a therapy group came to life after many patients reported cognitive difficulties they experience on a daily basis. Our therapy group is based on the principles of the Shahaf Program, developed by Dr. Einat Ben Ari and Dr. Yifa Arbel, occupational therapists who specialize in cognitive therapy. The group session has great value, as it allows patients to feel and understand that they’re not alone, and it creates a kind of emotional support group in addition to the cognitive aspect and practical tools they receive from us, the occupational therapists,” said Kalimi-Itzak.
Anyone interested in scheduling an appointment at the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic should call: 04-7744262.
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