Hydrotherapy — therapeutic use of water — is one of the oldest and most widely applied forms of physical and psychological rehabilitation. At IsraClinic, hydrotherapy is integrated into treatment plans as a complementary therapeutic modality, used for its well-documented physiological and psychological effects alongside psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment.
Water has unique physical properties — buoyancy, resistance, temperature, and hydrostatic pressure — that interact with the body in ways that produce measurable physiological and psychological effects.
Buoyancy reduces the load on joints and muscles, allowing movement that may be difficult or painful on land, and creates a physical experience of weightlessness and ease that has direct psychological correlates.
Hydrostatic pressure improves circulation and calms the autonomic nervous system — reducing physiological arousal, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and promoting physiological calm.
Temperature modulation — warm water reduces muscle tension, promotes relaxation, and has analgesic properties. Cold water exposure, used selectively, activates the sympathetic nervous system and produces mood-elevating neurochemical changes.
Resistance and movement in water engage the body proprioceptively — supporting sensorimotor integration and body awareness.
Anxiety disorders and stress-related conditions — hydrotherapy provides direct physiological regulation, reducing autonomic arousal and promoting calm that supports the psychological work done in other parts of the treatment plan. Regular sessions can significantly reduce the baseline physiological tension that maintains anxiety.
Depression — particularly where psychomotor retardation, physical heaviness, and disconnection from the body are prominent, hydrotherapy provides gentle re-engagement with physical experience and a reliable source of physiological mood elevation.
Trauma and PTSD — hydrotherapy can serve as a regulation and grounding modality, supporting the physiological stabilisation that is often a precondition for more intensive trauma processing work.
Chronic pain and somatic presentations — the analgesic and muscle-relaxing properties of warm water, combined with the reduced physical load of movement in water, make hydrotherapy a clinically valuable component of pain management.
Serious mental illness — for patients receiving long-term treatment, hydrotherapy contributes to physical wellbeing, physiological regulation, and quality of life alongside the primary pharmacological and psychotherapeutic components of care.
Hydrotherapy at IsraClinic is conducted in appropriate aquatic facilities and is always delivered as part of an integrated treatment plan — clinically indicated, planned by the clinical team, and reviewed as treatment progresses.
Type, frequency, and format of sessions is specified in the patient's individual treatment plan. A physical health assessment is conducted before hydrotherapy is initiated to ensure the programme is appropriate for the patient's physical condition and medical history.
All hydrotherapy at IsraClinic is delivered within the framework of the Psychoergonomic Method — ensuring its use is embedded in a comprehensive clinical understanding of this specific patient's presentation, physical condition, and therapeutic goals.
Hydrotherapy is indicated when physiological regulation, physical relaxation, pain management, or sensorimotor re-engagement are clinically relevant components of treatment; and when the physical and psychological effects of water-based therapy provide a meaningful complement to the cognitive, verbal, and pharmacological dimensions of care.
The treating team will assess whether and how hydrotherapy is indicated as part of the individual treatment plan.
IsraClinic accepts patients for in-person treatment in Tel Aviv, in English, Russian and Hebrew. No referral is required.
Lead Therapist: Alex Kravitz — Hydrotherapy, Sport Therapy & Feldenkrais Specialist | IsraClinic | Last reviewed: 2026
The therapeutic properties of water have been used in medicine for centuries — and modern research continues to validate them. Our team is available in English, Russian and Hebrew.