Speakers

Dr. Inbal Bar-On, Ph.D., a faculty member at the Human & Counselling Development at University of Haifa. Her fields of research relate to Children psychological abuse and neglect, Domestic violence and Psychological control at child-parent relationship. Supervisor and professional adviser to the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs; Officer of the court in high conflict divorce and reunification interventions.

Dr Fidler is a clinical developmental psychologist. She has worked with high conflict separating/divorcing families conducting assessments, professional consultations, expert testimony, mediation, arbitration, therapy and parenting coordination for over 30 years. Dr. Fidler provides training to judges, lawyers and mental health professionals and has presented at numerous conferences. She is co-author of four books: Child Custody Assessments (2008), Challenging Issues in Child Custody Disputes (2008), Best Practice Guide: Responding to Emotional Harm & Parent-Child Contact Problems in High Conflict Separation (2013), and Children Who Resist Post-Separation Parental Contact: A Differential Approach for Legal and Mental Health Professionals (2012).

Dr. Garber is a New Hampshire licensed psychologist, parenting coordinator, expert consultant to family law matters across North America, speaker and author. He is also a former Guardian ad litem. Dr. Garber has advanced degrees in psycholinguistics, developmental and clinical child psychology from the University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. He completed an internship in clinical child and family psychology at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. He is co-founder of the Parenting Coordination Association of New Hampshire, winner of the March of Dimes "Distinction in Media Excellence" award, and an acclaimed educator and author in numerous areas of child and family development and family law.

Dr. Benjamin Bailey, Ph.D., is a faculty member at the Department of Criminology at Western Galilee College, in Acre, Israel. His fields of research are intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, masculinity, and fatherhood. In his private clinic in Tel Aviv, he also serves as a family court appointed expert in parent-child reunification interventions. Dr Bailey has co-authored papers on subjects including parent-child reunification interventions in Israel, the social construction of roles in intimate partner violence, male batterers and their therapists, violently reactive women and their relationship with an abusive mother, and women’s psychological aggression toward an intimate male partner.

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Dr. Alice Berkowitz has been a clinical and forensic psychologist since 1986. She received her doctorate from the University of Southern California and taught as an adjunct professor at USC for over 13 years. She has been a Child Custody Evaluator, Mediator, Special Master, Parenting Plan Expert, and Expert Witness for over 30 years. Her specializations include children’s alienation, child abuse (including child sexual abuse), domestic violence, addiction, PTSD, acute trauma, stalking and harassment. Dr. Berkowitz is also a neuropsychologist and is an expert in cognitive disorders, the effect of emotional trauma on brain function, traumatic brain injuries. Dr. Berkowitz is also an expert in personality disorders and has trained, diagnosed, and worked with severe personality disorders since 1985.

Professor Flander has been working with children for over thirty years. As a child psychologist of the Children’s Hospital Zagreb, she often worked with abused and neglected children who had not had the necessary protection from adults and was among the first professionals in Croatia to recognise the issue of child abuse and neglect and to devote her further work to that issue. She is the founder of the Brave Phone, help-line for abused and neglected children and has received several awards of recognition for her work. Besides her professional work she has been active in scientific work and published and presented at international conferences a number of scientific and professional papers. She has published books, handbooks and brochures for parents, children and professionals.

Since 1998, Dr. Dijkstra has led an agency dealing with violence within relationships. The agency, Bureau Dijkstra, offers research, education and advice to professionals, practitioners, managers and policy makers in many welfare, social and juridical sectors and educational organisations. The central aim of the agency is to gain an understanding of the risk of violence and of the possible ways to prevent its occurrence. From 2007 until November 2014, she was a professor in Domestic Violence and Interagency Work at Avans, University for applied sciences. Sietske is a member of the Netherlands Institute of Psychologists and, as well as having published numerous research papers, her chapter Listening to children and parents: Seven dimensions to untangle high-conflict divorce was included in The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Taking stock after 25 years and looking ahead (Brill, 2016).

Dr. Claire Francica DCPsych is a private practitioner based in Malta. She holds a doctorate degree in Counselling Psychology and Existential Psychotherapy from Middlesex University. She has also gained her training in play therapy (PTUK) and Jungian sandplay therapy (BISS). Her fields of interest are working with children and adolescents experiencing an early onset of mental health issues, complex trauma, attachment difficulties and alienating behaviours. She also serves as a family court-appointed expert in parent-child reunification programmes in the Maltese Family Court, after gaining specialised training at the Family Separation Clinic in London. Claire Francica is currently a training candidate in child, adolescent and adult psychoanalysis at the CG Jung Institute in Kusnacht, Zurich. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta, Faculty of Education.

Avner Ha’Cohen is a Senior (supervisor) Clinical Psychologist, working in private practice, in Jerusalem. He is a lecturer at the Hebrew University, Faculty of Law, on the subject of 'Children at risk'. He is also a lecturer and clinical supervisor at Kessel School of Psychotherapy, Jerusalem and at Tmurot, School of psychotherapy, Bar-Ilan University. Additionally, he is a member of the Appeals Committee according to the Adoption and Foster Care laws, in the Family Court. Avner is a consultant to Family Courts and Welfare Units on high-intensity divorce disputes and complex family separation cases.

Prof. Tirtsa Joels is a Senior Lecturer of Psychology and Child Development, and Academic Head of the International Interdisciplinary MA Program in Child Development, University of Haifa. She is also a research practitioner at the Center for the Study of Child Development, University of Haifa, Israel. Her research fields include the application of evidence-based research to contribute to post-divorce parenting plans, adoption, foster care, and the well-being of high-risk children. Prof. Joels was a member of the Committee for Examination of the Legal Aspects of Parental Responsibility in Divorce (appointed by the Minister of Justice). In addition, she serves as Amicus Curia for the Family court system.

Joan Long is a chartered psychologist and psychotherapist with over 33 years experience with a private Clinic in Cork City, Ireland. She has specialised training and experience in the areas of addicitons, family therapy, trauma, aftermath of child and adolescent abuse, and depression, along with family breakdown and separation. She has trained and supervised therapists for Hazelden US and other organisations, and provides clinical therapy and consultancy for both public and private organisations. In addition, Joan assesses and reports for High Court, Employment Law and Family Law Courts in Ireland. Her particular area of interest is in working with children and families in separation and divorce proceedings where psychological impacts impede healthy development.

Teodora Minčić is a psychologist and a specialist in Medical Psychology. Since 1993, she has been working with children and adolescents at the Clinic for Children and Adolescents at the Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade. In 2003 she completed her specialization in Medical Psychology. Besides psychodiagnostic work with children and adolescents, her main area of interest is working with children who were abused and neglected, or exposed to manipulation during the divorce process. She has been a member of the Unit for the Protection of Children against Abuse and Neglect at the Institute of Mental Health ever since its establishment in 2000. She has also been a permanent expert witness in the cases related to children, divorce, abuse and neglect since 2006.

Dr. Judith M. Pilla, PhD, PMHCNS-BC is a licensed and nationally board certified psychotherapist with 20 years experience treating individuals, couples, families and groups. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Pilla provides community education through workshops and seminars. She also offers professional training and consultation for mental health, medical, nursing, social service and legal professionals. Dr. Pilla conducts clinical research in her specialty areas and publishes in the fields of relationship dynamics; improving parent/child connections; and strengths-based education for families.

Mia Roje Đapić is a psychologist, integrative psychotherapist, integrative psychotherapist for children and adolescents and MA in neurolinguistic programming and a doctoral student in prevention science. She is a member of the Brave Phone education and supervision team, where she has been volunteering for more than ten years. She is the co-author of the book "Child at the Center (Conflict)", executive editor of the book "Science and Art of Education", author of numerous chapters, brochures, professional and scientific papers on education and protection of children. She actively participates in conducting numerous trainings and trainings of experts from various sectors of child protection, and she has also worked on international projects with the same topic .

Moran Samun has been a member of the Israel Bar Association since 2004. She heads one of the leading law firms in Israel in the area of family and inheritance law, and has a unique specialization in managing risks and crises in the family. With 17 years experience in the field, Moran has developed a method for financial agreements that deal with relationships and not just finances and developed a method for effective divorce – Divorce Most Valuable Process (D-MVP), which Integrates therapeutic tools in the legal process. She served as Chairperson of the National Committee for the Handling of False Claims of the Israel Bar Association for about five years (until 2019), and currently serves as Co-Chairperson of the Family Law Committee for the Tel Aviv District of the Israel Bar Association, as well as a court member of the national disciplinary court of the Israel Bar Association.

Dikla Sherel is a member of the the Israeli Association for Couple and Family Therapy. She provides counselling, treatment and prevention services to families dealing with family difficulties and crises. Her specialist areas of treatment include relationships between spouses in crisis, crisis in parent-child relationships and parental guidance. In addition she offers treatment of adolescents, dyadic therapy, couples therapy, family care, and emotional therapy for children.

Karen Woodall is the lead therapist at the Family Separation Clinic in London and is a specialist in working with divorce and separation and its impact on children. She has over twenty years experience in working with parents and children affected by family separation and is a recognised Expert Witness in the High Court of England and Wales. Using established psychotherapeutic theory and practice, Karen has developed new models of work with alienated children which are successful across all age groups and is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts the underlying problems experienced by alienated children and their families. She has co-authored handbooks for parents and practitioners and her influential blog has a worldwide readership. She is currently completing her PhD at Regents University in London exploring adult children's experiences of alienation and their therapeutic needs.

Nick Woodall is a partner at the Family Separation Clinic. He holds a Masters degree in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the University of London and is also a therapeutic mediator, accredited by the School of Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology, Regents University. He specialises in working directly with separating families in order to enable the whole family to manage change in ways that provide the best outcomes for children and has specialised in children's alienation for a number of years. Nick has worked on family separation policy and service design for the UK Government and is a guest lecturer at the Judicial College of England and Wales