The event will take place at the Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel-Aviv
Monday, December 16th, 2019
08:00-09:00 Registration & Refreshments
09:00-09:15 Opening Session-Speeches and Greetings
09:15-11:00 The Polyvagal Theory: Insights into Trauma Vulnerability, Resilience, and Recovery
Dr. Stephen W. Porges
Research Professor, Indiana & North Carolina Universities Inventor of the Polyvagal Theory
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break
11:30-13:00 Video Therapy session of Somatic Experiencing(R) by the Master of Body/Mind therapy, Dr. Peter Levine
Commentary by Dr. Stephen Porges
13:00-14:00 Lunch Break
14:00-15:00 PTSD in Veterans and Medical Trauma through the Polyvagal Theory:
Dr. Stephen Porges
Research Professor, Indiana & North Carolina Universities Inventor of the Polyvagal Theory
Presentation on the role of Oxytocin
Dr. Sue Carter
Professor of Biology at Indiana and Illinois Universities Expert in the function of Oxytocin
Veteran Case Study
Dr. Cathy Lawi
Executive Director of the International Trauma-Healing Institute Israel
15:00-15:30 SE Research
Prof. Danny Brom
Founder & Director General, Metiv, The Israel Psychotrauma Center Israel
15:30-16:00 Coffee Break
16:00-17:15 Collective Trauma and Conflict Resolution using the Polyvagal Theory
Gina Ross, MFCT
Founder & President of the International Trauma-Healing Institute Israel and USA
Dr. Stephen W. Porges
Research Professor, Indiana & North Carolina Universities Inventor of the Polyvagal Theory
Day 2 and 3 will be dedicated to practical lectures that will be delivered by Dr. Stephen Porges and Dr. Sue Carter.
Tuesday, December 17th, 2019
08:00-09:00 Refreshments
09:00-10:30 Session 1 – The Neurobiology of Connectedness
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-13:00 Session 2 – The Polyvagal Theory and the development of the Autonomic Nervous System
13:00-14:15 Lunch Break
14:15-15:45 Session 3 – The Social Engagement System in Promoting Connectedness, Trust, Play, and Intimacy
15:45-16:00 Coffee Break
16:00-17:30 Session 4 – Listening as a Therapeutic Portal
Wednesday, December 18th, 2019
08:30-09:30 Refreshments
09:30-11:00 Session 5 – Applying the Polyvagal Theory in Clinical Settings
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break
11:30-13:00 Session 6 – The Role of Oxytocin in Birthing, Social Attachment, and Love – Dr. Sue Carter
13:00-14:00 Lunch Break
14:00-15:30 Session 7 – How Environmental Factors Tune the Oxytocin Receptor – Dr. Sue Carter
15:30-16:00 Coffee Break
16:00-17:00 Session 8 -Oxytocin and clinical disorders – Dr. Sue Carter
17:00-17:30 Concluding Session – How the Oxytocin Model and Polyvagal Theory Combine to Understand Connectedness, Trust, and Love
17:30-18:00 Conclusion
Why the Polyvagal Theory holds the key to the treatment of trauma
For the very first time in Israel, you can join Porges and explore how you can apply the Polyvagal Theory in clinical practice with this groundbreaking, highly practical course.
Experience in action the therapeutic power of body language, facial expression, eye contact, voice modulation and much more to help your clients overcome traumatic experiences, attachment wounds, and self – regulation problems – insights that can enhance any therapeutic approach and help you achieve lasting clinical outcomes.
The Polyvagal Theory is a major scientific breakthrough in mind-body medicine and psychotherapy. It has deeply informed the treatment of PTSD and of developmental trauma, as well as the practice of Somatic Experiencing® (SE®).
It shows how maturation of the autonomic nervous system forms the neural “platform” upon which social behavior and the development of trusting relationships are based, and how reactions to danger and experiences of trauma may tune our nervous system to respond to people as if they were predators, compromising our social interactions.
With the Polyvagal Theory, therapeutic professionals can:
- Quickly track trauma’s impact on the nervous system to reduce symptoms
- Adopt more effective interventions that speed healing (to be faster and more effective)
In this training, you will learn how to:
• Shift a client’s physiological state to move them out of freeze and shutdown
• Trauma symptoms have a neural basis
• Neuroception affects a client’s emotions, thoughts and behavior
• Help a client manage the physiological response to threat
• Activate the head and facial muscles to calm the fear response
• Use the social engagement system for self-regulation
• Activate the part of the nervous system that promotes stronger social engagement and connection
Regardless of what therapy modalities you practice, this course will help you increase your clinical success with the most difficult cases. Discover practical methods of applying the Polyvagal Theory insights to help clients of all ages and of all trauma symptoms.
Confirmed Speakers
Dr. Stephen W. Porges

Dr. Stephen Porges is an internationally recognized and distinguished scientist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University Bloomington and research professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He is a pioneer in developmental psychophysiology and his groundbreaking book, “The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Fegulation” has been instrumental in transforming our understanding of trauma and its successful treatment.
Dr. Stephen Porges is an internationally recognized and distinguished scientist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University Bloomington and research professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He is a pioneer in developmental psychophysiology and his groundbreaking book, “The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Fegulation” has been instrumental in transforming our understanding of trauma and its successful treatment.
Select Articles by Dr. Porges:
The Neorobiology of Feeling Safe – Stephen Porges
Polyvagal Primer from Clinical Application of Polyvagal Theory
Making the World Safe for our Children – Stephen Porges
Neurocardiology -Porges & Kolacz
Dr. Sue Carter
C. Sue Carter, PhD is a Distinguished University Research Scientist, and Executive Director, Emerita at the Kinsey Institute Indiana University, Bloomington. She formerly held the position of Distinguished University Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland and prior to that was Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Ecology, Ethology and Evolution at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Carter is past president of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society and holds fellow status in that Society and in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Award. She has authored more than 300 peer reviewed publications that have been cited over 25,000 and has edited 5 books including “Attachment and Bonding: A New Synthesis” (MIT Press, 2006). Dr. Carter discovered the important role that oxytocin plays in establishment of social bonds and parental behavior.
Dr. Carter is the scientist, who discovered the relationship between social behavior and oxytocin. Her work examines how oxytocin pathways are at the center of physiological systems that enable human sociality. Oxytocin acts as a regulator of the autonomic nervous system to allow the high levels of social sensitivity and attunement necessary for human sociality and for rearing a human child. You will learn about the unique actions of oxytocin, including the facilitation of birth, lactation, maternal behavior, genetic regulation of the growth of the neocortex, and the maintenance of the blood supply to the brain.
Dr. Peter Levine
Peter Levine received his doctorate in medical biophysics from the University of California at Berkeley and another in psychology from International University.
Levine worked for NASA as a stress consultant while the Space Shuttle program was being developed and has shared his expertise while teaching at various facilities throughout the world, including pain clinics, hospitals, and treatment centers. He is particularly interested in the effects of trauma and oppression on indigenous populations; he is a member of World Psychologists for Social Responsibility, an organization dedicated to forming effective responses to ethnic and political warfare and wide ranging disasters.
Levine is the founder of Somatic Experiencing® (SE®), and he established the Foundation for Human Enrichment in Boulder, Colorado, to serve as a training facility for SE® practitioners. Levine is a faculty member of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, and his 1997 book on trauma, “Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma”, was a bestseller.
Gina Ross, MFCT
Founder & President of the International Trauma-Healing Institute, US and Israel
Gina Ross, MFCT, is Founder and President of the International Trauma-Healing Institutes (ITI-USA, and ITI-Israel). An internationally recognized published author and researcher, Gina is an SE® senior faculty member. She adds her vast cross-cultural experience to her expertise on individual and collective trauma and conflict resolution. She has conducted workshops in Europe, Brazil, Africa, America and the Middle East. She the author of “Beyond the Trauma Vortex: the Media’s Role in Healing Fear, Terror, and Violence”, and a series of six Guide books for social sectors, “Beyond the Trauma Vortex Into the Healing Vortex”. She specializes in trauma therapy and conducts cross-cultural therapy in seven languages for a clientele from 50 different countries. She is a sought-after trauma expert for radio and television programs and a frequent invited presenter at international conferences. She will be presenting the protocol she has developed for conflict resolution that integrates self-regulation and the understanding of Universal Basic Needs of the self and the adversary.
Dr. Danny Brom
Danny Brom, Ph.D. is the Founding Director of Metiv, the Israel Psychotrauma Center in Jerusalem. Originally from Holland, where he founded the Dutch Institute for Psychotrauma in the 1980s, Dr. Brom is a certified clinical psychologist. Dr. Brom has published numerous books and articles on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He published the first controlled outcome study on short-term therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in 1989. Among the projects of the Trauma Center are the Peace of Mind project for released soldiers, the BEAR (Building Emotion and Affect Regulation) program for children and the creation of psychosocial services for the Ethiopian immigrants. Many of his contributions are toward bridging the gap between scientific data and the development of services in the community.Danny Brom, Ph.D. is the Founding Director of Metiv, the Israel Psychotrauma Center in Jerusalem.
Cathy Lawi, PhD
Executive Director of the International Trauma-Healing Institute, Israel
After graduating with honors from the doctorate program in the Geneva School of Pharmacy, Cathy managed drug development projects for international corporations, and then founded and managed a bio-med company – up until the day she experienced SE®.
Once she understood the power of SE® to heal and prevent trauma, she decided to dedicate her life to promoting its benefits in Israel
While finalizing her SE® certification, Cathy teamed up with Gina Ross and became the active ITI partner in Israel. Her efforts have lead to strategic partnerships with Ministries of Health and Education, on going projects with leading organizations and more.
About the Training: Why the Polyvagal Theory holds the key to the treatment of trauma
Participants will:
- Appraise principles and features of the Polyvagal Theory, with a new appreciation of how the autonomic nervous system works in trauma and healing
- Summarize the new science of safety and danger in trauma: How the Polyvagal Theory sheds a new light on psychiatric diagnoses (e.g. PTSD, autism, depression, and anxiety disorders)
- Evaluate maladaptive behaviors, including states of dissociation and how they may be an emergent property of an adaptive physiological state triggered by survival defensive mechanisms
- Write how a social engagement system links bodily feelings with cranial nerves, in charge of facial expression, vocal intonation, and gesture
- Integrate clear interventions to create safety and diminish trauma’s fear
- Plan how to shift a client’s physiological state to move them out of freeze and shutdown
- Consider how trauma symptoms have a neural basis
- Conclude how Neuroception affects a client’s emotions, thoughts and behavior
- Formulate how to help a client manage the physiological response to threat
- Decide to activate the head and facial muscles to calm the fear response
- Use the social engagement system for self-regulation
- Show how to activate the part of the nervous system that promotes stronger social engagement and connection
About ITI
The International Trauma Healing Institute (ITI) is a nonprofit educational and research organization established in 2001 in the US and in 2005 in Israel by Gina Ross, MFCT and managed in Israel by Dr. Cathy Lawi. ITI’s tools were chosen by the Israeli government and the Ministries of Health and Education for projects of individual and collective emotional well-being.
ITI is approved by the Ministry of Education.
ITI’s Mission is to implement a replicable model for the prevention of trauma and stress in order to increase resilience and facilitate communication, tolerance and harmonious dialogue.
To Register Click Here
Registration Fees * The rates are in US Dollars | Early Fee | Regular Fee |
Full Participation December 16-18, 2019 | $625 | $690 |
One Day Participation December 16, 2019 | $225 | $250 |
As from December 12, 2019, registration will be closed online. The participants may register on-site on December 16.
Registration Fees for Full Participation Include: Participation in Scientific sessions, workshops, Lunches on the days of participation, Refreshments, Nametag and Mini Program and certificate.
Registration Fees for One Day Participation (Dec 16) Include: Participation in Scientific sessions, Lunch on the day of participation, Refreshments, Nametag and Mini Program.
Group Registration: 10 participants or more from the same organization will receive a 10% discount. In order to receive the discount, please contact Mrs. Nava Levy, +97235767712, nlevy@paragong.com
Kindly note: As from December 12, 2019, online registration will be closed. The participants may register on-site on December 16, 2019.
On-site registration is subject to availability and there might be an increase in registration fees.
SE member are welcome to enjoy a 20% discount till October 22, 2019.
Cancelation Policy:
Refund of Registration Fees will be made upon receipt of a written notification by fax or e-mail only.
Until October 22, 2019: cancellation charge of $25.
From October 23, 2019: no refund.
Place: Dan Panorama Hotel, Professor Yechezkel Koyfman 10, Tel Aviv.
Time: Monday to Wednesday, 16, 17, 18 December 2019.
The 3-day training will include exercises and experiential practice sessions.
Languages: English and Hebrew. All English sessions will include simultaneous translation.
Meals: Coffee breaks will be provided in the conference area. Lunch will be provided at the hotel dining room. Dan Panorama Hotel is kosher, according to the Tel-Aviv rabanut.
Accomodation:
All rates are per room and per night, including Israeli breakfast, additional 17% VAT will be charged for Israel passport holders.
Early reservation is highly recommended
Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv (the meeting venue), The rates are in US Dollars | ||
Room Type | Single Room | Double Room |
Classic Room | 213$ | 224$ |
For more details or room reservations please contact Nava Alfandari Levy
Email: nlevy@paragong.com
Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv (the meeting venue), The rates are in US Dollars
Room Type Single Room Double Room
Classic Room $213 $224
Access:
Train: From Arlozorov Station
Buses No. 10, 18 – Descend at Hamered/Penes station (a two-minute walk to the hotel)
Bus No. 90 – Descend at Yosef Levi/Hakovshim station (a three-minute walk to the hotel)
From the Tel-Aviv Central Station
Buses 17, 31 – Descend at Hananya/Hayarkon station (a four-minute walk to the hotel)
For Additional bus information: www.bus.co.il
Parking
Haetzel House – Nahum Goldman 13 (10-minute walk)
Hatahana – Corner of Hamered and Koyfman Yehezkel 65 (11-minute walk)
2, Gan Hakovshim = corner of Hananya and Koyfman (4-minute walk)
Tkuma – Hamered 36 (4-minute walk)
Ein Yaakov – Koyfman 16 (8-minute walk)
Hamered 32 (7-minute walk)
Additional and updated parking information: http://www.ahuzot.co.il/Map/Parking/
We welcome you to the training and wish you a successful, informational and enjoyable event!
Gina Ross, Dr. Cathy Lawi and the team
ITI – the International Trauma-Healing Institute
Who Should Attend
Mental Health Practitioners of all therapeutic modalities, as well as doctors, body workers, and people interested in healing collective trauma. Regardless of what type of therapy you practice, this course can help you increase your clinical effectiveness.
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