About me
Dr. Judith Ronat, M.D, is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and a certified supervisor of family therapy. She has over 50 years of experience treating people in emotional or situational distress. Dr. Ronat has expertise helping patients with anxiety, depression, OCD, problems of living and relationship, and understanding the relationships between medical problems and their psychological consequences.
Formerly, she worked in Clalit’s Main Outpatient Mental Health Center at Ramat Chen and was the Medical Director at the Rishon Municipal Mental Health Center.
After attaining her B.S. in Mathematics from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she earned her M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine, interned at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital of Brighton, and completed her training at the MGH McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program. In this program, she began her experience in liaison psychiatry and in group therapy, and continued to treat groups when practicing in Israel.
When evaluating, treating, and helping her patients, Dr. Ronat employs a variety of psychological approaches. In treatment, she works with patients to help them understand and handle their problems, as opposed to explaining how she sees the issues.
She listens actively to the patient, and she isn’t hasty in arriving at a diagnostic label. In the last part of her evaluation, Dr. Ronat works with her patients to identify their strengths which they will then use to alleviate their problems.
As an experienced psychiatrist she judiciously prescribes medication only when necessary. Dr. Ronat is aware of the pros and cons of medication. Therefore, she employs psychotherapy and other techniques before giving out any prescription. When appropriate, she coordinates care with other professionals including family physicians, psychologists, social workers and clergy. Dr. Ronat also sees patients with their partner and/or other family members.
Qs&As
Why and when to go to a mental health professional? When a person is uncomfortable with himself or his surroundings, he needs to consult someone who will help him clarify what the problems are and how to lessen them.
What kinds of mental health professionals are there? There are psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and clinical social workers. A psychiatrist should often be consulted to rule out a physical illness mimicking a psychological problem. Here are a few examples: some endocrine problems can mimic anxiety and depression; some metabolic problems and electrolyte problems can mimic psychosis. If the problem can be helped by talking therapy, often a psychologist is better qualified than a young psychiatrist who has been trained to see medication as the first line of defense. If the problem has large social components, a clinical social worker is often more helpful.
What kinds of mental health services are available? Mental health services include clinics and other outpatient services, hospitals both psychiatric and psychiatric wards of general hospitals. All of these may be either public or private. All HMOs provide some treatment at reduced fees. The waiting lists are often long, and the number of sessions offered is generally few.
How do I get an appointment with you? You can phone or email to schedule an initial telephone meeting. The first 20 minutes of telephone consultation is free. This will enable you to see if you like my approach and enable me to see if I think I can help you. If we both see the usefulness of a face to face meeting, we find a time which is mutually convenient. I have no secretary or other intermediary. I prefer not to use text messages nor WhatsApp messages.
Does insurance cover any part of the evaluation or treatment? There is no insurance coverage for my services.
How much does your treatment cost? Each visit, both the initial and subsequent appointments, currently costs 700 ₪ for up to an hour. Longer visits cost 200 ₪ for each additional 15 minutes. Telephone and Skype appointments cost 200 ₪ for each 15 minutes or part of it.
Contact Me
097603287 / 0544649023
*I prefer email to text or WhatsApp messages
Kfar Saba, Israel