The Moment We Are In
We are living through a period of sustained crisis marked by trauma, displacement, grief, and community rupture. The demand for psychosocial support has never been greater, and our capacity to meet it is stretched thin.
Into that gap, movement and body based interventions are showing up with something essential: not more words, but bodies in space. Rhythm. Breath. Challenge. Recovery.
This webinar brings together practitioners and researchers working across some of the most compelling movement-based modalities in Israel and internationally, to examine what they share, what makes them effective, and why they deserve a central place in any serious conversation about resilience, mental health, and community care.
Who You Will Hear From
Dr. Hilla Sharon-David – Opening Academic Perspective
Dr. Hila Sharon-David is a Sport and Exercise Psychologist and lecturer in the M.A. Program in Sport Psychology at the College of Management Academic Studies in Israel. Her work bridges research and clinical practice, with a focus on helping clinicians integrate movement into everyday mental health care.
Dr. Ariel Ezra – Ha Gal Sheli / Ono Academic College
Clinical Social Worker, Head of Research and Development at Ha Gal Sheli and Head of Training on the new B.A. in Behavioral Sciences with Therapeutic Surfing at the Ono Academic College – the first program of its kind in the world. A trauma therapist with deep field experience, Dr. Ezra will speak to both the therapeutic practice of surf therapy and its growing place in the academy.
Ha Gal Sheli – Surf Therapy in Context – Recipient of the Presidential Award 2024, Ha Gal Sheli uses the ocean and its SEAstem model to support emotional resilience and a sense of agency with at-risk youth, trauma survivors, people with disabilities, and communities affected by the war. Operating from 12 centres along the Israeli coastline and serving over 20,000 graduates, Ha Gal Sheli is one of the most developed surf therapy organisations in the world.
Tali Wertheim – Vertigo Dance Company
Tali Wertheim co-founded Power of Balance at Vertigo Dance Company in 2000, creating a meeting place for disabled and non-disabled people through integrated Contact Improvisation. In partnership with the Ministry of Defence and the IDF Disabled Veterans Organisation, she leads resilience programmes for reserve soldiers, their partners, veterans, and since 2023, soldiers with PTSD.
Rachel Oren – TCTSY Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Rachel Oren is Israel’s first certified facilitator and agency trainer of Trauma Center, Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY): an evidence based yoga intervention for complex trauma and PTSD, shown to be as effective as talk therapy. TCTSY has over 20 years of research behind it and is facilitated in 50+ countries, impacting over 40,000 people annually. Restores a felt sense of safety in the body through an embodied, collaborative approach.
Alex Sandiford | Moderator and Facilitator
Alex Sandiford is a Psychoeducational Project Manager at ICAR, founder of The Women Project, and a Trauma-Informed Strength Trainer. She led the development of Wingate Academic College's first Trauma-Informed training program for fitness, movement, and sport professionals, and works at the intersection of movement, mental health, resilience, and community wellbeing.
Key Themes We Will Discuss
This is not a conversation about any one approach. It is a conversation about the continuum, the shared territory across modalities that makes movement meaningful for healing, resilience, and belonging.
-
How the body processes what the mind cannot yet speak
-
The regulatory role of rhythm, breath, and physical challenge
-
Group dynamics as a therapeutic force: belonging, co-regulation, collective safety
-
Accessibility – who movement-based care reaches and who it misses
-
Integrating movement-based approaches into clinical, community, and educational settings
-
What professionalizing and academizing these fields means for their future
This Webinar Is For You If…
-
You are a practitioner, therapist, or clinician working in trauma, mental health, or rehabilitation
-
You work in a community organization, school, or social service and want to understand what movement-based approaches can offer
-
You are a researcher or educator interested in embodied approaches to wellbeing
-
You are a philanthropic partner or funder thinking about where to invest in psychosocial support
-
You are curious about what it means to heal through the body — and why it matters now