Nefesh Israel - Preconference

Successful psychotherapy creates a safe environment for deep emotional work and subsequent healing of wounds. Creativity can be an important avenue in facilitating this deep therapeutic work. This full-day workshop will present a select array of useful techniques and tools as well as case examples where creative approaches are applied within a variety of counseling relationships. Creative interventions with children, adults, and couples will be explored across a wide range of diagnostic categories. Case examples will be grounded in theoretical frameworks, and techniques will include journaling, use of art and music, sand-tray therapy, dream work, mask making, and writing a narrative of psychotherapy. Thus, the clinician will gain a better understanding of when and where to facilitate and/or introduce specific tools. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to engage in several brief experiential exercises.

.Robin B. Zeiger, Ph.D., received a doctorate in clinical and social psychology in 1985 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. As a clinical psychologist licensed in the United States, she has had extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in individual and family therapy, including 18 years with Jewish Family Services of Richmond, Virginia, where she directed a pre-doctoral internship consortium. In her clinical work, Dr. Zeiger has a special focus on the interface of spirituality, creativity, and psychotherapy, as reflected in her use of object relations approaches, Jungian therapy, dream analysis, and Sandtray work.

2. Treating the Disordered Personality Hillel Davis , MD (English)

Successful treatment for patients with Personality Disorders provides one of the greatest challenges for therapists involved in their care. By displaying behaviors which generally fall outside the normal expected range, PD patients constantly surprise, provoke, confound and evoke a wide range of emotional reactions from therapists attempting to engage them in treatment.

In this all-day seminar, Psychiatrist, Dr. Hillel Davis will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of Personality Disorders starting with a review of the basic phenomenology and further developing a deeper understanding of the underlying structures, utilizing modern psychoanalytic formulations.

Participants will learn to fully appreciate the range of different personality styles as they become manifest in the initial assessment. Discussion will focus on Borderline Personality, as well as Narcissistic, Histrionic and Schizoid patients, and how their particular idiosyncrasies are likely to present throughout the treatment.

In order to develop a deeper understanding of Personality Disorders, Dr. Davis will discuss some of the underlying psychodynamic processes such as projective identification, narcissistic functioning, histrionic and schizoid defenses, and will explore a variety of treatment options. He will also discuss the kinds of transference and counter-transference responses which commonly occur when working with patients diagnosed with Personality Disorder.

By fully understanding these issues, participants will be able to apply these principles to any therapeutic approach, and increase their successes in treating these most challenging patients.

Hillel Davis, M.D., earned his medical degree from University College in London and completed a psychiatric residency at Talbieh Hospital in Jerusalem. He is a graduate of the Institute of Psychoanalysis, currently lectures at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School, and works in private practice specializing in the treatment of personality disorders.

3. "I am my Brother's Keeper!" – Preventing and Coping with Suicide (Hebrew)

Emotional disorders, attempted suicide and suicide unfortunately also affect Orthodox communities. Although the statistics show less prevalence of suicide within the orthodox community, it is nevertheless important to raise awareness of this issue, for practitioners in order to help them identify the risk groups and increase their skills in assessing and treating.

In this workshop, special emphasis will be placed on methods of prevention.

10:30-11:30 General Overview: Hanna Bar Yoseph, PhD

11:30-13:30 A round table discussion will be held in order to encourage dialogue regarding this issue among professionals in the fields of education, psychiatry, psychology and social work

Participants: Rabbi Eitan Eckstein, Director of Retorno

Rabbi Shabtai A. Rappaport, Rosh Yeshiva Shvut Israel

Yosef Merghi, MD - Psychiatrist, Shaare Zedek Medical Center

14:30-16:30 Primary Assessment of Distress and Suicide Risk: Presented by: Maya Yohan, PhD, psychologist, Schneider Children's Hospital, researcher and therapist specializing in suicide prevention

Dr Hanna Bar Yoseph is a senior clinical psychologist, specializing in treating teenagers in distress. Former lecturer at Bar Ilan University and among the founding members of the Amuta for the Prevention of Suicide in Israel. She is also a member of the Ministry of Health's Interdisciplinary Committee for the Prevention of Suicide.

"Nefesh Israel" in conjunction with ”The Family Institute of Neve Yerushalayim” are pleased to invite you to attend a Pre-Conference Professional Training Day

"Nefesh Israel" in conjunction with
”The Family Institute of Neve Yerushalayim”
are pleased to invite you to attend a Pre-Conference Professional Training Day