A little about me...
My name is Ohad Nave. I have lived most of my life in Israel and am currently based in Berlin.
I am a consciousness researcher, therapist, somatic-movement facilitator, social activist and video creator. In recent years, I have focused on working in depth with people as a somatic psychotherapist, or as it is commonly called, a mind-body therapist.
I will try to briefly describe here the training and life experience I have gained, hoping that it will help clarify a little where I am coming from.
I am a graduate of the 4-year training course at the Hakomi Israel Institute for Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy. I did my practicum at the Mental Health Center in Be'er Sheva, in the psychiatric day care department, which operates with a humanistic-social approach and integrates psychedelic-informed processes to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In addition, I have completed a year of training in the Omnitherapy method of touch-based somatic psychotherapy, which focuses on experiential exploration of the body and emotion through connection, listening, and shared presence. In addition, I have completed several CBT training courses in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), with an emphasis on working with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). I have completed a course in bodywork and psychotherapeutic support to acute trauma survivors, following the 7th of October massacre.
I have graduated in excellence my BA and MA in Cognitive and Brain Sciences from the Hebrew University, with a focus on the study of consciousness and the sense of self using scientific tools. During my studies, I led a phenomenological research in Prof. Aviva Berkowich's Neurophenomenology Laboratory at the University of Haifa, specializing in meditative and psychedelic states of consciousness.
My research, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Steven Folder of the Tovana Insight Meditation Association, examined the unique experience of dissolving the sense of self-boundary during deep meditation. In the study, we worked with 46 adept meditation practitioners and combined empirical brain research with careful experiential inquiry to map experiences of self dissolution.
Based on this in-depth investigation, I occasionally lecture and lead experiential workshops to explore the flexibility of the experience of the self in interpersonal encounters and movement in space.
Therapeutic and clinical training
Consciousness Research & Academic Background
I accompany psychedelic-informed processes and support the preparation, processing, and integration of altered states of consciousness, based on many years of experience in minimizing harm in rave and festival culture and on the basis of my somatic psychotherapeutic training.
As part of my work with Kiyumi organization in the Netherlands, I co-facilitate psychedelic retreats as immersive processes of deepening consciousness-expanding experiences with psilocybin mushrooms, alongside group work on connecting to the body, nature, and others. I am also one of the instructors in Kiyumi's training for deepening practice with psychedelics and holding space.
Psychedelic-informed support
In the early months of the war, after the October 7th massacre, I directed the bodywork therapy department at the “Healing Space,” a grassroot integrative therapeutic space for survivors of the Nova massacre. During this period, I supported survivors in the initial stages of coping with trauma, and directed the work of therapists in dealing with acute trauma, grounding, and supporting a gradual return to function.
Integrative work in acute collective trauma
Beyond my clinical work, I have been practicing the Buddhist path for many years and have been hosting contemplative practice circles. I also research and lead movement improvisation in the language of contact improvisation, as a living way of learning through body, connection, and movement.
Practice, movement and improvisation
I have been involved in the world of media and documentary film for nearly 20 years as a video editor, documentarian, and independent creator, with a deep affinity for movement, body, and socio-political partnership. In recent years and increasingly since 2022, I have been focused on Israeli-Palestinian artistic collaboration as a way of creating dialogue across divides.
Over the years, I have been involved in social activities in a wide variety of community assistance initiatives in East and West Jerusalem, protest actions and communal resistance organization, as well as fostering partnership between Israelis and Palestinians.