Mooli Lahad

Who is Mooli Lahad?

Professor Mooli Lahad is an Israeli psychologist and psychotrauma specialist, known for his creative methods of intervention and treatment of stress. He is the founder and director of the Institute of Dramatherapy, and Director of the CSPC - The International Stress Prevention Centre, at Tel Hai College in Kiryat Shmona, Israel. He is also Professor of Psychology at Tel Hai College and visiting Professor of Dramatherapy at Surrey University, England.

Lahad received his first PhD in psychology and a second in human and life science.

Lahad champions the application of creative approaches such as dramatherapy and bibliotherapy in the prevention and treatment of psychotrauma.

He developed the Integrative Model of Coping and Resiliency 'BASIC PH' and the 'SEE FAR CBT' psychotrauma treatment protocol, adopted by other practitioners worldwide. This centres on people's natural coping mechanisms, of which he has identified six types. The method aims to help people suffering from anxiety disorders or traumatized individuals to reduce their symptoms either completely or to a manageable level to enable them to regain a sense of control of their lives.

Lahad has practised his methods in the immediate aftermath of disasters such as the 1999 earthquake in Turkey, the United States dealing with the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, in New York and New Jersey and in Sri Lanka following the 2004 tsunami. This has included both dealing with individual cases and providing 'cascade' training of professionals known as 'train the trainers' or 'helping the helpers' who then go on to train others, to quickly build a large force of counsellors a concept he calls 'building islands of resiliency'.