Playback theater for expression, liberation, and expanding perspective and meaning while building an experience of sharing and togetherness.

Workshop led by Efrat Ashirai

This workshop will present a protocol that makes the toolbox of the "Playback" theater accessible for group work in order to strengthen personal and community resilience. Liberating activities will be presented, motivating positive energy and providing visibility in a spirit of support. The exercises and stage forms that will be presented support the transition from "closed" to "open" and connecting to others and the forces of life in a soft, accepting and beneficial way. After warming up with exercises that are liberating and empowering, we will experience a stage work that proposes to restore the story of life with sympathy and the combination of a gentle narrative, strengthening the heart and soul. The protocol is suitable for implementation with children from kindergarten to senior years, in small and large groups.

Efrat Achiri

One of the founding members of the Israeli Playback Theater, holds a master's degree in theater arts, and is a theater teacher. She is a personal and family therapist and works with community theater and playback theater as a tool for community empowerment, a tool for dialogue between communities, and as a means of personal growth. She has led the "Galilee Integrations Ensemble" and the theater school that accompanies it for about fifteen years. She has facilitated training courses for teachers and therapists at the Pisga and Matia centers. For about a decade, she has facilitated performing groups and process groups in the field of "playback" theater in the Haredi sector. She has facilitated theater groups for about thirty years, engaging in Jewish-Arab dialogue in Israeli society in a spirit of peace, of which about twenty years with an emphasis on dialogue through "playback" theater.

Efrat Achirai playbackgalil@walla.com

Parent-child intervention to strengthen attachment and a sense of security

With preschool children in times of crisis

Workshop led by Irit Blitti

This workshop will present a protocol for creative and playful intervention with a group of parents and preschool children (2-6). Participants will experience parent-child simulations, creative and play-based experiences that aim to introduce ways to relieve stress, strengthen the bond, have shared enjoyment, and to be present with play and creativity as a resource of strength and resilience. This protocol is based on a combination of different approaches to crisis intervention with preschool children and their parents. It allows for flexibility and adaptation to the age and situation of the participants.

The protocol is suitable for parents and preschoolers (2-6), in individual, group and community work. It combines simple experiences in movement, play and creation, with face-to-face meetings (not Zoom). 

Irish Blitty MA

Art therapist, senior instructor and lecturer at the University of Haifa and the Kibbutzim Seminar. Facilitator of workshops on working with parents in therapy, and dyadic therapy. Lecturer and workshop facilitator at conferences in Israel and abroad, has published several articles in Israel and abroad. Facilitator of therapeutic teams in special education schools, therapist in a private clinic.

Crochet Mandala – Lace Embroidery 

Workshop led by Geula Gal and Dr. Dina Cohen-Or

In the workshop we will experiment with a protocol that offers a simple structure for creative play that takes place in an abstract and neutral field that provides a sense of competence, belonging and relaxation. Immersing ourselves in creative play creates a space where one can be, rest and ventilate from the crisis reality, relieve stress and recharge the soul with vitality within a safe and organized space. Crochet Mandala – a lace embroidery aimed at expanding resilience, flexibility, internal and interpersonal attention and nourishing a sense of acceptance and connection to beauty and imagination.
The protocol is suitable for implementation with people aged five and over, in individual and group work. 

Geula Gal
A clinical social worker, expert therapist, lecturer and instructor in the color psychotherapy approach. Geula is one of the key figures in the approach and is a student of Dr. George Stern, the founder of the approach.

Dr. Dina Cohen-Or
A bibliophile and expert in color psychotherapy, clinician and instructor, lecturer at the Levinsky-Wingate Academic Center and the Ono Academic Center. Dina is one of the key figures in the approach and is a student of Geula Gal, Rachel Shamir and the late Vitka Kovner, a student of Dr. George Stern.

Mindfulness and self-compassion combined with the arts for relaxation

And as an aid to connecting to the present moment

Workshop led by Grace Schuschner

This workshop will present a protocol that offers simple and practical ways to connect to a sense of security, relieve stress, and develop self-compassion through breathing and mindfulness exercises. It will focus on the idea of ​​self-compassion as it relates to and contributes to emotional well-being and supports processes of development and change.

Grace Schuschner

Actress, drama therapist and certified teacher of mindfulness and self-compassion MSC and certified teacher of mindfulness and compassion MMTCP, over 15 years of experience in lecturing, creating curricula and courses and participating in plays and performances. Pioneer of the field of drama therapy in South American countries. Initiates and develops training programs. Developer of the Grace Schuschner method - a combination of drama therapy, mindfulness and compassion.

Stress relief, resource discovery, and connection to hope
Using the Seven Elements and the Visual Journal

Workshop led by Daniela Shaham Sarig, based on a protocol by Rakefet Hadar

The workshop will present a way to use the process of creating a visual journal page, by combining diverse styles and techniques to help people relieve stress, connect with strengths, and expand perspective.

The workshop will demonstrate how the use of the principles of the seven elements, from the "Pages of the Soul" approach developed by Rakepet Hadar, can engage even people who feel they don't know how to create into the creative process, and hence connect them to resources for coping and hope.  

Daniela Shaham Sarig

She has a master's degree in group facilitation combined with the arts and guides through the "Pages of the Soul" method.
The visual diary is used by her as a primary tool in workshops with senior groups, which deal with processing challenges that life presents. 

From imagination to creation and building resilience and calmness

Workshop led by Hanna Sherbarin

Loss and bereavement have always been with us. Personal experience intensifies during wartime, and evokes emotions and feelings from previous events, which can create a feeling of helplessness and ongoing tension. In this workshop, we will create, through guided imagery, collage, and writing, a personal place to which we can always reach and relax. The model is based on the principles of neuroscience, because we experience a reality created by imagination – as a physical reality. Through breathing and mindfulness practice – we will calm down and become grounded. A central place is given to personal choice in creation that connects to forces and activates action instead of stagnation and helplessness.
We will work with torn paper, colored pencils, pens and chalk, photography and writing. 

Hannah Sherberin

Senior instructor, art therapist, specialized in treating trauma and dissociation in adults and seniors, individual and group therapy. Conducts workshops in Israel and abroad, lectures and moderates at international conferences, has written chapters in five books and numerous articles. Participated in the development of the "Safe Studio" in Israel and taught therapists in Ukraine to use the model. Taught a course to therapists in Ukraine in treating trauma during wartime and continues to instruct. Despite her 82 years, she continues to learn, sing, play and create with material, and dream.

Shared drumming for connection to forces, joy, and a sense of belonging and hope

Workshop led by Omri Lapidot

In the workshop we will learn how to use rhythmic drumming to transform feelings of stress and anxiety into joy and relief, to provide a space for personal and group expression. We will experience the unifying and strengthening sense of belonging that the drumming circle creates and connect to strength and hope.

The workshop will provide basic knowledge that will allow it to be used in working with groups and communities in the field.

Omri Lapidot

Drummer therapist and facilitator of drumming and rhythm workshops since 2001, works mainly with special populations, specializes in drumming with Parkinson's patients - as a movement and rhythm disorder. Has a Bachelor's degree in Medical Sciences [BA.sc], from the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Master's degree in Neurophysiology, Brain Sciences [M.sc], from Tel Aviv University. Practitioner in Chinese medicine, Shiatsu and Qigong. Teaches the course "Drumming as a Therapeutic Tool for Therapists" at the Broshim Campus since 2011.

You and I and a basket of feelings

Workshop led by Muna Jaber

The workshop will present a creative way that uses the well-known children's story "The Bird of Soul" and simple creative processes to help express emotions, connect with strength and hope.

The protocol is suitable for working with children and adults.

Mona Jaber

Drama therapist, senior instructor, lecturer, PhD student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
She works for the Ministry of Education as a drama therapist, and is a former kindergarten teacher and kindergarten instructor.

Connecting to strengths and a sense of empowerment through creation, movement, and writing

Workshop led by Shira Sternfeld

This workshop will present a protocol that will help us connect to the forces through movement, play, writing, and creation in individual and group work.

The protocol is suitable for implementation with people from the age of eight in group work.

Shira Sternfeld MA

Therapist through arts, movement and dance. Treats and guides individuals and groups. Teaches and trains female students for the profession in academia. Facilitates workshops and conferences in Israel and internationally. Engages in the field of mental health rehabilitation, manages the outreach department in the Department for Women with Disabilities and manages the "Youth Peers" program, the Society for Community Centers. One of the founders of "Ne'im LaTikva."

Two-stage intervention protocol in drama therapy
To create a connection to resources and a positive future vision

Workshop led by Tamar Borer

In moments of stress and fear, we have difficulty connecting with our inner forces, and sometimes lose faith in our ability to cope. The dramatic distance and projection onto external characters can help us connect with inner forces and recall ways of coping that were abandoned in light of the emergency. In the workshop, we will play characters from stories and practice playfulness, creativity, and group action, activities that create an additional connection to inner and outer forces, and remind us of resources that we may have forgotten. In addition, the stories allow for an external observation of a distant reality, providing perspective on a fictional character's coping with a situation of distress or difficulty, and on the character's ability to overcome the difficulty and end the story in a strong state.
If the character can do it, maybe I can too?

In the workshop we will experiment with the first part of the protocol and present the second part.

Tamar Borer MA 
Drama therapist and parent instructor, therapist in a private clinic, instructor of drama therapy students, facilitator of drama-involved groups, actress and facilitator in Playback Theater.

Workshop led by Tamar Hazut

This workshop will present an effective method for stress reduction and regulation through doodling. The technique is simple to use and suitable for application with any person and of different ages, in an individual or group session, with the individual acting against the background of the group. The process includes several steps that should be used according to the age of the participants and their situation.

Tamar Hazut

Art therapist and instructor. Belongs to the generation of pioneers in this field in Israel. Together with the late Peretz Hesse, she founded the first training program in Israel for art therapists at the University of Haifa in 1981 and headed it from 1985-2008. She taught for many years at Oranim College. Active in the field of advancing the profession in the association and on state committees. Treats children, adolescents and adults and focuses on dealing with trauma, illness and bereavement. Instructor, teaches and trains therapists in Israel and abroad and assists countries dealing with trauma. Publishes articles, lectures and moderates conferences in Israel and abroad.
Since October 7, 2023, she has been active in assisting and guiding various projects.