Anyone entering the lobby of Mayanei Hayeshua’s Mental Health Centre will notice the very attractive Lego Garden display and many other exotic creations.
Using Lego bricks donated by Maor the Lego Man, the colourful flowers and model buildings etc are all expertly put together by the patients in the eating disorders department. The link between eating disorders and the therapeutic benefits of popular bricks was discovered by senior psychiatrist Dr Tzofia Laufer from Mayanei’s Eating Disorders department, and quickly became part and parcel of the very successful treatment protocol.
Documenting the unique benefits of “Lego Therapy” was the basis of a comprehensive professional presentation delivered by Dr Laufer and head nurse Meirav Shimoni at the recent annual conference of the Israeli Association of Eating Disorders. Participants of the conference Lego Therapy workshop, featuring Maor the Lego Man, were soon building models using the familiar Lego bricks. Eating Disorders Department head Professor Daniel Stein also chaired several sessions at the conference
Armed with his therapeutic Lego kits, Maor now pays regular visits to Mayanei’s Eating Disorders department as well as to patients in other departments in the Mental Health Centre. The Lego bricks have proven to be a highly effective therapeutic tool – with the added advantage that completed Lego models now greet visitors as they enter the Lobby.
