Naftali Halberstadt, PhD is the Director of the Training Center for Mind-Body Skills, Israel. After completing his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Naftali pursued his interest in the development and research of information technologies to improve the lives of various at-risk populations (e.g., abused children and their families; clients in psychiatric rehabilitation; the elderly) at the American Joint Jewish Distribution Committee (JDC) in Israel. His ongoing experience as a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist-supervisor and previously as a Mental Health Officer in the Israel Defense Forces, where he focused on the research and treatment of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, facilitated the development of JDC’s Psycho-Trauma Response Program which he directed from 2002-2008. In 2005, he was part of an Israeli team of trauma experts sent to train professionals in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster. He has provided consultation to professionals working with children and families in the aftermath of the Katrina hurricane disaster. His association with CMBM began in 2004 at the time of their first Israel-based training cycle and continues to date. In 2008, Naftali assumed the position of Director of the Training Center for Mind-Body Skills in Israel.
