About Otsmot Institute

The Otsmot Institute was established in 1996 by Gideon Millul, who has acted as its director ever since

Aim of the Institute

To give every person active within human systems a chance to acquire, within a relatively short time, the tools and practical skills (to which should be added a personal “tool box”) that will enable him to act better in different life situations and to fulfill his tasks and roles efficiently with much greater satisfaction and ease through the discovery of personal meaning.

Educational objectives to achieve this aim

  • To assist a person to develop optimism, to strengthen his personal inner powers, to increase his sense of self esteem, and to direct him towards discovering meaning in all life situations.
  • To enrich the ability of a person to help himself and to help others around him.
  • To increase the personal quality of life, the ability to adapt to accelerated environmental and personal changes, and the ability to create efficient alternatives.
  • To strengthen the ability to cope with difficult situations and unwanted realities and to minimize energy erosion.
  • To develop the bonds and the inter-personal relationships between man and his surroundings.

Work plan

With the unique work plan targeted for student involvement within a group or as a particular individual, we attempt to fulfill most of these aspirations with regard to questions like: “What do I do in this particular situation?”, “What is really important for me?”, “Which alternative can be use now?”, “What are the costs and profits in my course of action?”, “What is my goal?”, “What are my personal preferences?”, “How can more communication and cooperation be obtained from others?” or “How can my chances for success be increased?”. We have learnt from our experience that the strengthening of a person has positive and relatively rapid effects and implications on the person himself and on the social, organizational and economic systems to which he belongs – the family, society, and the work place. (On the different aspects that include mental fortitude, efficient personal function, improvement in communication and in inter-personal relations, building motivation, a sense of belonging, and later on – the achievement of profit). Therefore, the aims, the objectives, and the study contents are determined and adjusted according to the convergence of individual needs and the needs of the system in which he operates. 

Activities

The Otsmot Institute deals with guidance, teaching, and consultation for human systems in the framework of human behavior linked to finding meaning in varied fields within the circles of life (occupation, intimate connections, parenthood, recreation, and social interactions that involve human relationship). These are linked to the following issues:

  • Adapting to changes.
  • Constructive and positive thinking.
  • Dealing with states of uncertainty and with difficulties of undesirable realities.
  • Conflict solutions without winners.
  • Bridging inter-cultural gaps.
  • Enrichment of the ties that link a couple.
  • Communication and human relations.
  • Discovery of the individual skills in organizations and businesses.
  • Strengthening the inter-generation connections.
  • Preparation for retirement.
  • Work with senior citizens and work teams that are related to them.
  • Meaningful life in all situations.

Working Experience

Our continued work in the field has granted us the rewarding opportunities to conduct educational and instructive activities within different organizational, individual and academic frameworks such as: Gordon College; Clalit and Maccabi Health systems (for the staff and members of the health clinics, for the social workers and for doctors specializing in family health); The Open University; University of Pisa; University of Haifa; The Adler Institute; The Ministry of Construction and Housing; The Municipality of Haifa; several retirement homes and clubs for the elderly in Haifa, Migdal Ha-Emek and in the center of Israel; several kibbutz settlements (such as Ramat Yohanan, Kfar Massarik, Kfar Hamaccabi, Ein-Harod); ZIM and others. This is in addition to our active participation in international lectures, exhibits, forums and conventions in Israel and abroad.

Testimonials by Participants

We found it is relevant to display a cross-section of testimonials from participants in series of sessions and educational workshops conducted by us over the years and at different time periods. These testimonials answer the question: “What have you obtained from these sessions?”

  • “My self confidence was improved considerably” (participant in a workshop for the elderly)
  • “I obtained tools that helped me solve problems more easily” (social worker)
  • “I strengthened my ability to contain my anger and hatred…” (participant in the Open University)
  • “I learnt to extract the best out of everything” (Student in a Business Management College)
  • “I learnt to adapt to things” (participant in a club for the retired)
  • “I feel I can now do things I never dared to do before because of my age…” (participant in a workshop in a day-club for the elderly)
  • “I learnt to state my opinion, even if it contradicts the opinion of another, without creating any feelings of animosity ” (employee in a government office)
  • “I learnt to listen to another person, to understand him, and to accept him for what he is” (kibbutz member)
  • “My relations with the ‘boss’ at my workplace, whom I could not stand, improved in a miraculous way” (employee in a public institution)
  • “I now understand that by altering my interpretation of things, my life has changed” (university participant)
  • “I learnt to focus on love and positive feelings, even in harsh times” (retired person from Beit Halochem)
  • “It is much easier today to deal with things that I have no control over” (Open University participant)
  • “I became much more relaxed” (participant in a day-club for the retired)
  • “I learnt to live peacefully by accepting the differences in others” (participant in a series of sessions for the middle generation)
  • “I began to cooperate with others” (employee in a public institution)
  • “The relationship with my children improved a lot in the last four months” (participant in her 40’s)
  • “My children and grandchildren started to visit me more lately…” (participant in a series of sessions for senior citizens)
  • I was desperate because of my “screwed up” life when I came to the course. Now I am looking forward to brighter days ahead” (participant in a series of sessions for the middle generation)
  • “I learnt many things about myself, and now I know myself better” (retired person from a shipping company)
  • “I enriched my understanding regarding the problems of my patients” (family doctor)
  • “I learned to regard issues in their right proportions” (retired employee of the Ministry of Defense)
  • “I found that many things can be under my control, and that a lot depends on me and how I relate to the situation” (Open University participant)
  • “Now I can help my patients better and ease their immediate distress” (family doctor)
  • “Before the course I wanted to see my patients get out of my office as soon as possible, but something happened in the course. I feel I have more patience for them and I really want to try and help them more” (family doctor)
  • “Infinite options opened up during the studies here, ending a terrible period I undergone in the last months after my husband committed suicide and left me with three small children” (employee of the Ministry of Education in her 40’s)
  • “Today I am aware of my value and that I am worth something” (kibbutz member in her 60’s)
  • “From the course I drew hope, power and faith to continue” (Open University participant)
  • “I go out of my house more often now, and I even made two new friends” (participant in a series of sessions for senior citizens)
  • “I saw that there are more grains in the hourglass of my life” (participant before retirement from the Histadrut College)
  • “I enjoyed every minute of your wonderful course, a course that gave me a lot of strength” (clinical psychologist)
  • “I acquired the ability to implement the principles and to use the practical tools I obtained for my work with people and for my personal life” (social worker)
  • “I understood that I have much more to do in life” (kibbutz member)
  • “I found a good reason to get up in the morning” (participant in a day-club for the retired)
  • “I got back the flavor of life” (participant in a workshop of a day-club for the elderly)