Shlomo Ariel

Biography

I am a senior clinical psychologist, licensed by the Israeli Ministry of Health to supervise clinical psychologists in psychotherapy and psycho-diagnostics since 1994, and an authorized supervisor of family therapy by the Israel Family Therapy Association since 1992. Before I made a career change into clinical psychology I had been a lecturer of theoretical linguistics, anthropological linguistics, semiotics and child language development in the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University and later in Haifa University, Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.

The Center for the Study of Children’s Activities and Yale University
When I was a lecturer in Haifa University I participated in a research Project on the play activities and social behavior of Kindergarten children in the framework of the School of Education of the Kibbutz Movement in Oranim. Naturalistic observations of the activities of children of all sections of the Israeli population as well as of Bedouin children in the Sinai Desert were videotaped and analyzed by a semiotic method I developed. I shared this work with Professor Jerome L. Singer of Yale University, a world-renowned researcher of children play, and he invited me to participate in his research in the framework of a year of Post Doc. During that year I began my graduate studies in clinical psychology which I completed in Tel Aviv University. I specialized in family therapy and play therapy.


The Integrative Model and Training Programs
After the completion of my clinical psychology studies I began developing a model of integrative, multi-systemic , culturally competent therapeutic work with individuals, families and groups, focusing mainly of integrative play therapy with children and their systems. This model and parts of it have been published in books and articles . I have been training therapists in this model in full training programs, courses and workshops in Israel, various European countries and the USA. The main past training program I started and served as an academic director and trainer in were the four-year Multi-Systemic Child and Adolescent Training Program for Social Workers in Israel , sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Welfare ; the two-year Integrative Play Therapy Training Program in the Integrative Psychotherapy School of the Magid Institute, The Hebrew University, Israel; the two-year Integrative Play Therapy Training Program in the David Yellin Academic College of Education in Jerusalem, Israel and the five-year Systemic Family Therapy Training program in Kosovo, sponsored by the Kosovo Health Foundation and the Training Division of the International Family Therapy Association, in which I served as a board member.  I also lectured on applications of play in education and culturally sensitive education in the MA program of the David Yellin College of Education. Starting 2019 I’ll conduct two training programs for integrative psychotherapists and integrative play therapist in the framework of a family therapy institute in Izmir, Turkey. Currently I supervise mental health professionals in the Israeli Arab community. I am the founder and past  chairman of the Israeli Play Therapy Association

Education

Ph.D Lingusitics ; MA, Psychology

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Psychotherapy integration, play research, play therapy, culturally competent psychotherapy

Personal Interests

I write novels, short stories and play for children and adults. I am a songwriter, performing my songs with various bands, in which I play blues harmonica

Books

Videos