Psychologist (Ph.D.), Founder of ISTA

ISST member since 1993

Dr. Bert A. N. Meltzer is a Clinical and Developmental Psychologist (B.S. Tufts University; M.A. & Ph.D. from Clark University, Worcester, Mass) and co-founder of the Israeli Sandplay Therapists Association. His therapeutic orientation is Analytical, Developmental and Gestalt Therapy.  A former member of the American Academy of Psychotherapists. His previous work has included Adolescent and Children’s Clinical Services and Drug Prevention programs in both California and New York.  He served as the Executive Director of Operation Breakthrough in Southern California.   He has worked as a Training Psychologist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and has worked as a Supervising Psychologist for the Israel Ministry of Education training and supervising therapy work with children and adolescents.  He is a teaching member of ISST.

He currently works in private practice with children, adolescents, adults, and families and provides training and supervision for Sandplay Therapists out of Moshav Nir-ysrael in the Northern Negev, and teaches, supervises, and is involved in training once a week in clinic in Jerusalem.

[icon name=”map-marker” class=”lg”] 70 Moshav Nir-Yisrael, 79505, ISRAEL
[icon name=”phone” class=”lg”]  (+972) 8-6750963
[icon name=”phone” class=”lg”] 1-760-565-8905 (US)
[icon name=”fax” class=”lg”] (+972)8-9315179
[icon name=”mobile” class=”lg”]  (+972) 50-5900021
[icon name=”envelope” class=””]  bert.meltzer@gmail.com

Professional License Numbers

USA State of California Board of Psychology: 3577 ; Israel Ministry of Health #852 Israel Psychological Association: 1289

Academic Degrees

BS in Psychology: Tufts University; Medford, Mass.; June,1963
MA in Psychology: Clark University; Worcester, Mass.; June, 1965
Ph.D. in Psychology; Clark University; Worcester, Mass.; Sept 1969

Occupational History:

1963-1964 Public Health Clinical Training Fellowship: Clark University
1964-1965 Teaching Assistant for Undergraduate Statistics; Clark University.
Teaching Assistant for: Introductory Psychology: Clark University.
Research Assistant at Heinz Werner Institute of Human Development
U.S. Public Health Clinical Training Fellowship: Clark University.
1965-1967 Rural Development Officer:Ministry Rural Development of Eastern Nigeria(then Biafra).
1967-1%8.Clinical Psychology Internship: Judge Baker Child Guidance Center: Boston, Mass.
1968-1969 Research Fellow: National Institute of Mental Health Research Fellowship.
1969-1974 Clinical Psychologist San Mateo County Mental Health Services; San Mateo, Ca.
1972-1974 Senior Psychologist and Coordinator of Clinics participation in multiphase drug abuse program of Adolescent Services; North San Mateo Mental Health Center.
1974- 1975 Clinical Field Researcher Kibbutz in Israel and the locations in Near East
1978-1978 Supervising Psychologist for Ulster County Mental Health Services (Training and Supervision of Substance Abuse Prevention Program staff); Ulster County, NY.
1976-1978:Clinical Psychologist: Greenstreet Counseling Center; Kingston, NY.
1978-1982:Clinical and Supervising Psychologist; Hebrew University Psychological Services Center; Hebrew University; Jerusalem.
1978-1993 Supervisor Psychological Services; Ministry of Education Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
1982-1993: Supervising Psychologist for regional and urban clinics in the southern part of Israel (including the cities of: Sderot,Kiriat, Malachi, Ashdod, Moaz Tzion, Kiriat Gat, Belt Shemish, and Ashkelon).
1974-2005: Private practice: individual evaluation and psychotherapy, and group psychotherapy; training and supervision of groups in Gestalt therapy, Sandplay therapy, Polarity therapy, and Voice Dialogue Technique.
1987-1992: associate staff member Gestalt Institute of New Orleans and New York.
1983-2006. Private practice and co-founder of the Israel Sandplay Therapists Association.      Activities include: individual and group seminars; workshops; and training in Sandplay therapy.
2006-2009: Executive Director; Operation Breakthrough: An outpatient community based alcohol and drug treatment center which combined substance abuse psycho-educational activities with therapeutic and legal intervention.
2006-2009: Clinical Psychologist with Jewish Family Service in Palm Springs, CA.
2008-2009: Clinical Psychologist with Morongo Basin Mental Health Center
2010-present: Sderot Project Group Therapy program using Sandplay Therapy in a Group setting to treat traumatized children who have been terrorized by rocket attacks from Gaza.
2010-present: Laqya project:   working with Palestinian-Israeli-Bedouin Counselor to establish and treat Bedouin students using Sandplay Therapy.

Post Graduate Professional Training

1970-1973 Training in Gestalt therapy at the Gestalt Institute of San Francisco; three years of individual and group training and supervision
1971-1972 Training course in Polarity Therapy and Structural Integration with Dr. Robert Hall (Lomi Foundation); including weekly four hour group, individual experience, monthly workshops, and workshops with Dr. Randolf Stone (founder of Polarity Therapy).
1971: Training course in medical and psychological hypnosis: certified by the San Francisco Society for Medical and Dental Hypnosis.
1970-1973 Gestalt training workshops with Dr. Jim Simkin; in San Francisco, Esalan Institute, and Big Sur, Ca.
1975: Training experiences in Indian approaches to self-awareness, healing, and meditation; in Beas, New DehIl, and Poona, India.
1978.’ Participation in body therapy workshops with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in the Feldenkrais movement approach to self awareness.
1983-2005: Workshops, lectures, and supervision in Sand play therapy with Ms. Dora Kalif – recent founder of Sandplay therapy from Jungian framework – (lectures, and workshop); Dr. Kay Bradway 30-40 hours of supervision of paired supervision); 50 hours of supervison with Dr. Joel Ryce-Menuhin (London) including more than 20 hours of individual supervision; plus various lectures and seminars in sandplay conferences. 1982-present lectures, seminars, courses, and therapy supervision in Jungian psychology with
various members of the Israeli Jungian lnstitute (including: Marian Badran, Ella Amitzar, Davorah Kochinsky, Gustuv Dryfus, and Rina Porat)
1986-1986 training in Voice Dialogue theory and technique with Dr. Hal Stone and Dr. Sidra Winkelman (developers and authors of the technique).
1983-2002: Gestalt therapy professional training workshops with various members of the staff of the Los Angeles Gestalt Institute visiting Israel.

Professional Organizations and Affiliations:

1971-present certification as Clinical Psychologist; Board of Medical Examiners California. (1978-2005 inactive)
1973-1981: (approx.) American Academy of Psychotherapists.
1975-1985 (approx.) American Psychological Association.
1978-present lsraeli Psychological Association.
1983-present Association of Gestalt Therapists in Israel.
1986-presentTrainer in International Network of Voice Dialogue.
1990-present: Member of British and Irish Society of Sandplay Therapy.
1994-present’ Israel Sandplay Therapists Association (co-founder) (ISTA)
1996- International Society of Sandplay Therapists (ISST)

Thesis, Presentation, and Publications:

• 1968: The Effects of Cognitive Complexity and Value Congruity on Impression Formation; (MA thesis).
• 1969: The Influence of the Duration of Interracial Classroom Contact on the Development of Interpersonal Cognitive Skills (Ph.D. thesis)
  This investigation considered the effects of the duration of interracial contact on the organization and structural characteristics of the interpersonal perception of self and other: of white and black children.
• 1978: The Sandbox Approach to Supervision and Training of Psychologists: paper presented at the International Conference on Developments in Psychology; Hebrew University; Jerusalem, Israel.
• 1987: The Genius of Diagnosed Learning Disability Children as Expressed in Their Sandplay Creations: paper presented at International Conference on Special Education.
• 1991: Sandplay Images of the 15th of January*; paper submitted and published in several regional journals including the American Sandplay Journal of (Some places appears as: “Images of War and Peace).   This paper relates to lsraeli children’s reactions to the events in the Persian Gulf and the approaching war with Iraq, which began on the 15th of January.]
• 1995 The Initiatory Journey To Womanhood, A Sandplay case study of a “Broken Heart” as a precipitate to individuation. Paper submitted as fulfillment of the requirements for membership in the International Society of Sandplay Therapists.
• 1998: Presentation of Comprehensive Context of Images in Monterey, California STA Conference
• 1998 Presentation of Theories of Images and the Expression in Sandplay: Veronica, Italy
• 2000 Images of Peace and Images of War published in the International Journal of Sandplay.
• 2000 Presentation of Transference and Countertransference Images at ISST Conference, in Vancouver, Canada
• 2002 Presentation of Treatment of Psychotic populations with Sandplay Therapy (presented to BLISS Conference, June 2002.)
• 2005: Sandplay Therapy and Erich Neumans Developmental Theory; Israeli journal (with Rina Porat)
• 2005: Sandplay and Depression: Israeli Life magazine article (with Rina Porat)
• 2013: Presentation: Unveiling the Mask: The Use of Sandplay Therapy as a psycho-social-political mediator in the transformation of a traditional Bedouin community from concealment to revealing and healing.. 22^nd International ISST Conference
• 2014: Presentation: Bringing the Sandbox to the People of the Sand: STA conference Seattle, WA.; USA.
• 2014: Publication: The Use of Sandplay Therapy as a psycho-social-political mediator in the transformation of a traditional Bedouin community; Italian Journal of Sandplay Therapy.
• 2015: The Use of Sandplay Therapy as a psycho-social-political mediator in the transformation of a traditional Bedouin community. German-Swiss Journal of Sandplay Therapy.