Psychotherapy Advanced Specialization Program for Mental Health Professionals in Conjunction with Bar Ilan University: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexual Trauma
This groundbreaking multi-year psychotherapy specialization course is focused on psychodynamic treatment of sexual trauma and is the first of its kind in Israel. Geared for experienced therapists interested in integrating this modality into their professional toolkit, the course also greatly expands awareness of the unique therapeutic implications of both trauma and sexual trauma. This three-year course is fully accredited by the Israeli Psychotherapy Association. A natural progression of the long-standing collaboration between Bar Ilan University and the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center, this course will be taking the long-standing, highly-regarded joint program to a new level of academic scholarship, therapeutic training and practicum experience. The program seeks to deepen the theoretical, clinical and practical knowledge of therapists engaged in dynamic therapy. Providing a crucial foundational insight into the dynamics of sexual assault and unique implications of the damage caused by it. The studies, which are anchored in dynamic thinking, promote an in-depth understanding of the emotional processes and coping mechanisms manifested within the therapeutic alliance relationship regarding trauma and post-trauma. The program incorporates a variety of theoretical approaches that allow for a broad view of trauma and the treatment of survivors of sexual trauma.
Program Staff: Academic Coordinator Naama Bar-Sadeh I Shirley Eilat Greenberg I Dr. Ofra Eshel I Dr. Galit Ben-Amitai I Dr. Anat Gur I Dr. Rivka Davidovich Epstein I Dr. Yael Desha I Dr. Hila Hermelin Kutner I Tova Zaltz I Dr. Afi Ziv I Yaniv Katz I Yael Levin I Rachel Sober I Emanuel Amrami I Dr. Jonathan Piamenta Dr. Hanna Tzur I Orna Kisseli I Yifat Kalush Yagel I Dr. Daniela Shabar Shapira I Ruth Shevdron I Anat Shumen I Idit Shani Edom
The studies include a weekly clinical seminar throughout the three years of study as well as practical training in the form of field practicum.
Academic classes are held at the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Central Tel Aviv, on Sundays between the hours of 14:00 – 20:00.
For more information please contact:
Bar-Ilan University’s Continuing Education Unit | Cont.Education@mail.biu.ac.il | 03-5317265.
Einav Hasten at the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center | therapy@ta1202.org | 03-6011903.
Training Professionals: Mental Health
Despite the prevalence of sexual assault in Israeli society, strikingly there is a considerable dearth of knowledge regarding the treatment of sexual trauma among those professionals who are highly likely to encounter it in the course of their professional careers. Most Israeli academic institutions do not ensure that their students receive training regarding this issue or only briefly touch on the subject in a non-comprehensive manner. The Center therefore offers a vast array of trainings for a wide variety of professionals in order to ensure that they are equipped to help survivors. Included in this category are the Center's continuing education courses for mental health professionals including psychologists, clinical social workers and psychiatrists at mental health clinics throughout the country.
Training Professionals: Social Services
The Center provides regular trainings at the Ministry of Welfare’s School of Continuing Education for Social Workers. These training impact social workers from a wide array of public and private organizations throughout Israel.
Training Professionals: Medical & Paramedical
The Center facilitates a variety of customized trainings for medical and paramedical professionals such as a wide range of trainings, workshops, conferences and lectures at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital), Sheba Medical Center (Tel Hashomer Hospital), Maccabi Health Services and the Tel Aviv Department of Health. Participants include doctors from across the spectrum of specializations, physical therapists, midwives, nurses, etc. We also hold trainings for medical and nursing students. Additionally, we have facilitated training for The Israeli Medical Association’s new HIPAM (היפ"ם) Project, which advances the diagnosis and treatment of sexual trauma.
Training Professionals: Full-Day Workshops
In order to further supplement our trainings, the Center facilitates professional day-long seminars throughout the year on a variety of topics dealing with issues of sexual assault. These professional enrichment trainings serve as the foundation for the Center’s position as a well-regarded expert in the nationwide discussion on sexual assault. Through them the Center demonstrates that our 43 years of professional knowledge and experience can significantly assist the broad range of audience
members who attend. Please view one of our recent Zoom conferences with Dr. Ira Brenner, a world-renown expert on Dissociative Disorder (In English from Minute 2:16 of the video recording).
Professional Trainings: Educators
Educators are often on the “front lines” when it comes to spotting and dealing with issues of sexual assault. Unfortunately, with no mandatory training on this issue through the Ministry of Education, they are often ill-equipped to help students navigate through this difficult process. The Center therefore offers specialized workshops for educators. Our revamped workshop curriculum gives educators the training necessary to assist students who have undergone abuse by learning to: identify signs of abuse, create a safe dialogue with victimized students and supply information regarding the relevant laws as well as the principle of consent and appropriate support services. Moreover, we also offer support and information regarding secondary trauma for these educators so that they can cope better with the emotional reverberations of their student's experiences, rather than to be left alone to handle the strain as they so often have been prior to this programming. This programming continued live with social distancing restrictions whenever possible and trainings were facilitated virtually when necessary. Additionally, the Center offers digitally based training for educators available online. Pushing forward with even more accessible training content via Facebook and social media, educators have been able to use our lesson plans to initiate discussions in their classrooms to address specific hot-button issues such as increased online sexual bullying, etc. Educators who have downloaded our resources give overwhelmingly positive feedback, noting that they enabled discussions that they were previously unable to have with their students. Please click here to view one of our recent short videos for educators.
Professional Trainings: Law Enforcement
To further advance shifting attitudes among law enforcement regarding the unique implications of sexual violence through trainings as well as emotional support for the police, the Center is raising their awareness of relevant issues and providing the police with the tools to give the necessary support as well as support for officers' own secondary trauma. The Center's lectures are now included in the police department’s required training course as well as in their continuing education courses. We have also developed customized presentations for specific unit training on violent crimes, child protection, juvenile crimes, domestic violence and internal affairs. In addition, we conduct lectures, full-day seminars and training courses for officers at various police stations. We also hold meetings to discuss the effect of secondary trauma that officers experience as a result of their work with survivors. These ongoing meetings and trainings are especially important in light of the high turn-over rate in units dealing with sexual violence.
Professional Trainings: Prosecutors/District Attorney Offices
The Center continued with our ongoing work with the Tel Aviv and Central District Attorney's Offices, although much of it was held virtually and on a smaller scale due to social distancing requirements within these offices. The Center's trainings combine theoretical knowledge with pragmatic skills for improved communication and understanding of the unique implications of sexual violence, which in turn makes for a more efficient and compassionate legal process. It also introduces a variety of legal methods that could be used as negotiation tools within the court process. These tools are aimed at conveying to the court a more comprehensive picture of the sexual violence and helping them to grasp the extent of the damage resulting from it. Moreover, we are able to harness our decades of experience to provide practical information to be utilized within the trail process, thus helping these prosecutors have a broader range of methods to use in court. Due to the fact that they are constantly faced with clients experiencing past trauma, these attorneys are highly susceptible to secondary trauma. As a result of our efforts, we are very pleased to have witnessed incredible positive progress in our relationship with both the Central Area and Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Offices over the past few years. In the past we were viewed as an outside entity and at times in an even adversarial manner. Whereas now state prosecutors are in constant contact regarding our clients, confer with us prior to closing any cases that the Center is connected with, consult with us on complex legal situations and even refer sexual assault clients who have not been in previous contact with the Center to us for ongoing support. Another sign of our blossoming partnership is the establishment of joint meetings between senior prosecutors and our professional staff to resolve any ongoing dilemmas or problems that arise in these complex cases. This enables both groups to raise many important issues, allowing us to optimize and strengthen ties between us. Moreover, it helps us to bridge the gap between the often-detached legal process and the taxing personal journey that survivors endure by integrating the language of trauma within the language of law. All of this results in improved services for survivors, a more empathetic approach and a means of ensuring that survivor's voices will be heard in the Israeli judiciary. Although the Center’s Judicial Process Accompaniment Department usually facilitates numerous lectures and training sessions for a wide range of audiences such as law students at universities and colleges throughout Israel, various law firms, judiciary legal clerks and an array of for profit and NGO organizations, because of the Corona outbreaks we were far more limited in 2020.
Training Tomorrow's Professionals: Social Work Students
As part of our efforts to train future professionals, the Center offers university students the opportunity to intern with us as part of their professional field work requirement. Currently, we provide placements for students from Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University and Tel Aviv University. Our social work student interns gain crucial professional experience by assisting survivors through clinical intakes, individual trauma counseling, accompaniment services, psycho-educational group work, crisis hotline work and organization-wide projects that they each undertake. All of these areas are overseen by our field placement coordinator and require an intensive training course specifically tailored for interning social work students.
Training Tomorrow's Professionals: Law Students
Our law student interns undergo an intensive training program geared for their field prior to the start of their placement and receive both individual as well as group supervision on a regular basis. As part of their field work these law students accompany survivors throughout the judicial process, write appeals and help with all forms of legal aid necessary to assist their clients.