International Symposium—Music Therapy, Mental Resilience, and Health
About the Lectures (For details about the lectures, click on the lecture title)
Carl Jung, Trauma, and Music Therapy: Integrative Approaches in Psychedelic Psychotherapy. Mr. Niv Arviv Dogo.
Niv Arviv-Dogo is a certified music therapist, Jungian psychotherapist, and psychedelic therapist, and one of the pioneers in Israel in integrating legally authorized ketamine-based therapy into private practice. His approach combines analytical psychotherapy with spiritual approaches drawn from Kabbalah, Hasidism, and shamanism, viewing healing as a multilayered process—personal, collective, and mystical.
The lecture will explore the connection between music therapy and psychedelic psychotherapy, drawing on the principles of Jungian psychology, with an emphasis on the relationship between the ego and the self in the healing process. Integrative methods for working with trauma will be presented, emphasizing the strengthening of resilience through connection to inner healing forces. Inner listening will be highlighted as a common and essential component of both approaches and as the key to psychological change and the creation of meaning.
Relational Needs in Music Therapy for Individuals with Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lecturer: Prof. Moshe Ben-Simon
Prof. Moshe Ben-Simon is a faculty member in the Department of Criminology at Bar-Ilan University. His professional background combines the fields of criminology and music therapy, and he focuses on interdisciplinary research that integrates these approaches.
This lecture will present findings from a qualitative study conducted among 41 music therapists who worked with trauma survivors in Israel. The findings highlight music’s unique contribution to addressing patients’ relational needs—including the need for recognition, acceptance, emotional validation, an emotional response from the therapist, security, trust, and the therapist reaching out to them.
Song as a Therapeutic Tool in Mental Health. Lecturer: Mr. Zavik Elisha Neumann
Zavik Elisha Neumann is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, music therapist, and certified practitioner of the EMDR method. He is the director of the Arts Therapy Department at the Lev Hasharon Mental Health Center, heads the “Music for the Soul” project of the Ministry of Health and the Rimon School of Music, and serves as chair of the Mental Health Committee at Y.H.T.
The lecture will present methods for implementing music therapy with people with mental health challenges, incorporating video clips from therapy sessions held at the Lev Hasharon Mental Health Center.
Roundtable Discussion: Music Therapy After the Seventh of October. Dr. Gabi Frank, Prof. Moshe Ben-Simon, Mr. Zavik Elisha Neumann, Mr. Niv Arviv Dogo.
About the Workshops (For details about the workshops, click on the workshop name)
Song as a Healing Tool: Strengthening the Mental Resilience of Hospitalized Children Through Songwriting Ms. Noga Geva
Ms. Noga Geva is a musician and composer, a certified music therapist, and a lecturer in the fields of early childhood music and songwriting for therapeutic purposes. Noga is the creator of the children’s song albums *I Have Everything*, *Jump to the Sky*, *On the Way to Auntie’s*, and *My Moment*—mindfulness songs for children. The workshop will combine hands-on practice with open discussion and provide tools for therapeutic work through songwriting with hospitalized children.
Music of the Moment: Improvisation on Musical Instruments as a Way of Coping with Uncertainty by Dr. Ronit Aharoni
Dr. Ronit Aharoni is a certified music therapist and psychotherapist. She also provides professional training and facilitates musical improvisation groups, with an emphasis on personal development and empowerment. The workshop offers participants an opportunity to explore and delve into the world of musical improvisation, inviting them to discover their creative strengths and develop flexibility, listening skills, openness, courage, faith, and other qualities as resources that support and encourage growth.
Therapy Through Music and Mindfulness: A Clinical Intervention for Mental Resilience by Dr. Michal Dahoch
Dr. Michal Tzur Dahoch is a certified music therapist and specialist in focused psychotherapy, with expertise in trauma, depression, anxiety, and rehabilitation. She directs the Rehabilitation Center for IDF Veterans with Head Injuries in Jaffa, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Psychology, Research Authority, Bar-Ilan University. Michal teaches in the master’s program in music therapy at Ono Academic College. In this workshop, she will demonstrate and teach techniques for integrating mindfulness into music therapy, with the goal of achieving emotional clarity and a better quality of life for people experiencing emotional crisis and depression.
The Inner Journey: A musical workshop for building mental resilience and processing traumatic experiences, inspired by psychedelic therapy. Instructor: Mr. Niv Arviv Dogo
The workshop offers a musical journey that simulates the stages of psychedelic therapy—preparation, experience, and integration—as a tool for inner work. Through individual practice, group work, and guided dialogue, participants will experience nonverbal healing processes, inspired by music therapy and Jungian psychology, to strengthen mental resilience and process emotions.