Program Team

What makes us unique?

The Steadfast in Spirit program team consists of leading professionals in their fields – therapists, martial arts practitioners, and mental resilience trainers with extensive experience working with trauma victims and at-risk populations.

Together, the program team combines clinical, physical, and educational expertise to provide tools for emotional regulation, strengthening a sense of empowerment, and building personal and community resilience.

Movement therapist and psychotherapist specializing in dyadic therapy and parenting therapy. Dance teacher and owner of the "Gof Merhav Yetzira" dance school, operating in Tel Aviv since 2012.

Founder, coordinator and lecturer in the training program for therapeutically oriented martial arts instructors from the Coaching in Motion training school, recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Founder and coordinator of the "Eitan Baruch" program for teaching emotional regulation and resilience skills through martial arts and movement. The program is included in the Ministry of Education's program database and operates in several schools in Israel.

Trains and accompanies martial arts instructors to work with children in the "Eitan Ba Ruach" model.

She holds an MA in Movement Therapy, the Program for Therapists in Expression and Creativity, University of Haifa.

She holds a BA in Dance Teaching from Elkana College.

Graduate of psychotherapy studies in the "Ogen" program - a school for integration-based psychotherapy at the Jaffa Academic College in Tel Aviv.

Aya treats children, youth and adults in a private clinic and through the Shaar Hanegev Resilience Center.

After the events of October 7, Aya joined the "Talking Together - Parents and Children" association and has been treating families from the envelope with trauma-focused approaches ever since. Today, Aya trains therapists to work with families in this model.

Aya has been involved for many years in the connections between therapy, movement, teaching, and creativity.

Martial arts trainer and instructor, founder of the Team Bert Martial Arts Academy, operating since 2005.

Founder of Coaching in Motion – a company that works to develop programs that integrate knowledge from the world of martial arts in the areas of therapy, trauma prevention, and educational empowerment programs. In addition, Eran founded the school for training martial arts and sports instructors and special programs that combine martial arts instruction with a therapeutic orientation.

Eran has been involved in martial arts since 1991. He began his career as a professional fighter in 2002, was one of the pioneers of professional ring fighters in Israel in the field of MMA, and ended his career without losses in 2007. Eran is considered one of the best-known combat trainers in the country. As a trainer, he brought his students to unprecedented achievements (world and European championships, victories in the BELLATOR and PFL organizations).

Holds an MA in Conflict Management and Mediation from Tel Aviv University.

Holds a BA in Psychology from the Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College.

Holder of a LIFE COUCH certificate from the Sati Training School and a mediator certificate.

Eran has extensive experience in training in the military and state service (instructor in the state service, senior instructor in the IDF, reserve officer with the rank of captain in the Krav Maga and Close Combat section).

Eran advises leading security and training organizations in Israel and around the world. He is responsible for developing and implementing innovative training systems in the field of close combat and developing mental skills, resilience, and mental toughness among commanders, managers, professional fighters, and elite athletes.

Eran has extensive experience working with at-risk populations, victims of sexual assault in the IDF and in the military.

Over the years, Eran has developed various models for working on developing skills and regulation and imparting mental resilience to children, youth, and adults from different backgrounds.

Over the years, Eran has researched and developed the connection between physical and mental warrior skills, mindfulness models, and performance research, through skills-based somatic practice. Following the events of 7/10 and in accordance with the need that emerged from the field to provide meaningful tools to warriors dealing with post-traumatic symptoms, the research and many years of experience were gathered and formulated into a unique integrative model for the prevention and treatment of post-traumatic symptoms – the “Eitan Baruh” model.

Dave has been practicing and teaching martial arts for the past 40 years. Dave has dedicated the past decade to managing two organizations dedicated to helping U.S. military veterans recover from post-traumatic stress disorder, integrate, and grow back into civilian life: As CEO of Veteran's PATH, he has helped veterans find meaning and purpose in their lives through mindfulness, meditation, and community building; and Dave founded Aikido for Veterans & Families, which provides veterans and their families with the martial art of aikido, an approach that focuses on nonviolent conflict resolution and building resilience. In collaboration with the Veterans Administration, Dave has developed martial arts-based treatment programs and served as a consultant to the organization on resilience and mental health.

Prior to his work in nonprofits, Dave was a successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and served as CEO of several startups. He also taught entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado and guided entrepreneurs in starting and growing new businesses.

Dave is part of the planning and development team for the Eitan Baruch program. Dave is also responsible for external relations in the US and internationally.

He began his career on the Israeli national team in karate, where he gained competitive experience and deepened his study of the fundamentals of body and mind discipline.

During his service in the IDF, he served in a special unit as a team commander, a position in which he acquired many tools in the areas of leadership, decision-making under pressure, and tactical combat.

Since his release, he has worked in a variety of government settings and specialized in close combat training, command and management of training systems, while emphasizing the application of professional knowledge and its transfer to future generations of instructors and fighters.

He currently serves as a technical and mental trainer, and is part of the teaching staff of martial arts instructor courses.

Conducts seminars and advanced training in Israel and internationally, and accompanies learning processes and personal development through both movement and mental tools.

Tzachi is part of the planning and development team of the Eitan Baruach program.

Danny is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Bar-Ilan University, Head of the Master's Degree Program in Clinical Psychology. An expert clinical psychologist with extensive clinical and research experience in the field of trauma.

Danny has been involved in teaching, training, and research in the fields of trauma and psychopathology for many years. His main research areas include complex post-trauma, mechanisms of vulnerability and resilience to stress, marital and family trauma, trauma surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, and mindfulness-based therapies among trauma-exposed populations.

Danny is a research fellow at New York University School of Medicine, an associate editor of the journals Frontiers in Psychiatry and Frontiers in Psychology, and has received awards and certificates of excellence for academic and teaching achievements.

Danny serves as a professional advisor to the Eitan Ba Ruach program team.

The program in numbers

Focus on research-based physical and emotional regulation, using a unique integrative method

100%

4

International experts actively accompany the program

18

Years of cumulative experience in developing models of mental and emotional resilience