Shulamit N. Ritblatt
Department of Child and Family Development
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-4502
(619) 594-6501 (voice mail)
ritblatt@mail.sdsu.edu

 

Doctor of Philosophy in Child Development and Family Relations.
Experienced child psychologist.

Present Position:

Assistant Professor, Child and Family Development, College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts, San Diego State University.

Academic Training:

Ph.D. 1993:

Florida State University, College of Human Sciences, Tallahassee, Florida.
Graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Major Area: Child Development and Family Relations
Thesis: "Theory of Mind in Preschoolers: False Beliefs, Deception, and Pretend Play"
Major Professor: Murray Krantz
MA. (1989):
Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel
Major Area: Clinical Child Psychology
Thesis: "Grandparents - Grandchildren Relationships. A comparison between divorcee's children perception and non-divorcee's children"
Major Professor: Sarah Smilansky
B.A. (1981):
Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel
Major Areas: Psychology, Special Education

Professional Organizations:

The Israel Psychological Association (1990- )

The Society for Research in Child Psychology (1990- )

National Council on Family Relations (1990- )

National Association for the Education of Young Children (1990- )
 
San Diego Association for the Education of Young Children, Research Chair, Member of Board

The Society for Research on Adolescence (1993- )
 
ONEP- World Organization for Early Childhood Education (1995- )

Children's Defense Fund (1995- )

American Psychological Association-Developmental Psychology (1996- )

Honors, Awards:

Outstanding Faculty Award, SDSU (1996)

Outstanding Faculty Award, SDSU (1995)
Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars (1994)
May Watson Connor Award, College of Human Sciences, Department of Family and Child Sciences (1993).
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (1993).
Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society (1992).
Distinguished Employee of the Year Award, Department of Education, State of Israel (1984).

Prior Professional Experience:

8/94- 8/96

Lecturer
Child and Family Development, College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts, San Diego State University.
Responsibilities:
Taught four classes to approximately 300 students a semester. The courses were: Marriage and the Family, Middle Childhood- Adolescence, Developmental Dysfunctions, and Relationships Skills.
11/85-8/89 and 9/83-7/84
Child Psychologist,
Educational psychological and Services, Israel.
Responsibilities:
Tested children and diagnosed disabilities and learning problems in elementary and middle schools. Duties also included: psychotherapy with children and their families, counseling the school system's teachers and principals, supervising special education programs for learning disabled, and working in group settings dealing with crisis intervention and prevention.
1985-86
Supervisor
Youth Counseling Center, Kiryat-Ono and Benay-Bamk,
Department of Education, State of Israel.
Responsibilities:
Oversight of fifteen counselors working with delinquent and troubled youth. Duties included: weekly consultation with each counselor concerning their case load, establishing therapeutic plans and goals using problem solving strategies.
1980-85
Youth Counselor
Youth Counseling Center, Petach Tiqva, Israel.
 
Responsibilities:
Worked with adolescents concerning developmental problems in either individual, family, or in group settings. The issues were: self esteem and identity, relationships with peers and family, sex education, teenage pregnancy, school and work. This job required coordination and team work with other professional members of the community.
1978-79
Counselor
City Department of Education Petach-Tiqva, Israel.
Responsibilities:
Worked with children bereaved of their parent helping them to adjust to the death, and preparing them for the remarriage of the living parent.
1975-1977
First Lieutenant
Army of Israel.
Responsibilities:
As Education and Welfare Officer, was in charge of the educational programs and welfare for a unit of 200-250 military personal. Additional duties as Disciplinary Officer, for approximately 50 women soldiers.

Publications:

Ritblatt, S.,& Ter Louw, J. H. (1991). The Bible as Biblio-Source for Poetry Therapy. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 5(2), 95-103.

 
Ritblatt, S. (June, 1995). Theory of Mind in Preschoolers. Newsletter: SDAEYC.
 
Ritblatt, S., Mello, B., Ingium, K., Deutsch, F., & Students (1995). Theory of Mind: A Hands Curriculum Guide for Teachers and Caregivers. Department of Child and Family Development, SDSU.
 
Ritblatt, S. (Sep. & Nov. 1995). Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment. Newsletter: SDAEYC.
 
Ritblatt, S. (Feb. 1996). Fragile X Syndrome Partnership Between Parent and Teacher. Newsletter: SDAEYC.

In Preparation:

Ritblatt, S. N., & Krantz, M. Theory of Mind in preschoolers: False Beliefs, Deception, and Pretend Play.

 
Ritblatt, S. N. & Mello, B. Beyond Piaget: A Hands-on Approach to Develop Theory of Mind in Young Children.
 
Balkwell, C. & Ritblatt, S. N. Instruments Assessing the Images of Grandparents Presented in Children's Literature.

Ritblatt, S. N. & Balkwell, C. Images of Grandparents Depicted in Young Children's Books: A Cross-cultural Comparison of Three Cultures.

 
Ritblatt, S. N. & Balkwell, C. "The King is Naked, The King is Clothed"-A Comparison Between The Images of Grandparents as Depicted in Hebrew and English Children's Books.
 
Ritblatt, S. N. & Balkwell, C. The Use of Children's Literature to Enhance The Development of Positive Images of Grandparents Among Young Children.

Grant Writing:

"Bringing the Elderly and Young Children Together: Improving Attitudes and Psychological Well-Being in Two Generations" (July 1994). Submitted to the Joseph Drown Foundation.
 
"Images of Elderly Presented in Children's Literature: Multicultural comparison of Intergenerational Attitudes" (July 15, 1995). Submitted to NSF-Cognitive, Psychological, and Language Sciences Cluster.
 
"Elderly's Images in Children's Books- Multicultural Study" (February, 1996). Submitted to NIH-Grandparenting: Issues for Aging Research.

Book Review:

Marriage and the Family, Diversity and Strengths- Olson D. & DeFrain J., Mayfield Publishing Company, July 10 1995- March 20 1996.
 
The Marriage and Family Experience, Sixth Edition. West Educational Publishing, July 4 1996.

Research Project:

Images of Elderly and Grandparents in Children's Literature.
Theory of Mind in Young Children.
Emotional Intelligence and At Risk Behaviors in Adolescents.

Continuing Education Courses:

1983-1984 Group dynamics
Chaviva Ayial, Ph.D., Israel (15 hours).
1983-1984 Individual psychotherapy for children and adolescents Chavldn Nwnah, Israel (20 hours).
1983-1984 Strategic therapy and therapy with hypnosis
Nachman Alon, Israel (50 hours).
1987 Learning disabilities
Goldshmith Rachel, Israel (6 hours).
1988-1989 Diagnostic tests for children
Ruth Levith, Israel (50 hours).
1988 Psychotherapy with children and their families
Rachel Shiff, Israel (20 hours).
1988-1989 Gestalt
Bar Yosef Talie, Israel (30 hours).
1990 Use of art in clinical practice
Dr. Mazza, School of Social Work, FSU (6 hours).
March 5-6, 1994 Family therapy with Salvador Minuchin
Salvador Nfinuchin(12 hours)
April 23 &30,1994 Human sexuality training
UCSD (13 hours)
 
May 20, 1994 California Early Start Orientation Training, Infant-Toddler Interagency Collaboration Project,
Inservice and personnel development committee for Califomia's Early Start Program (2 hours).
May 21, 1994 Child Abuse and Neglect and Sexual Molestation
The Southern California Training Center for Child Sexual Abuse Treatment, Children's Institute International (10 hours).
October 15, 1994 A seminar on Temperament in Prevention and Treatment
Chess S. & Thomas A. (4 hours).
February 28-March 25, 1995 Laws and Professional Ethics
National University (40 hours).
October 25, 1995 Starr Fellowship-A Couple Communication Program
Miller S (8 hours).

Presentations:

Ritblatt, S. N. & Mello, B. (1996). "Theory of Mind in Young Children", presented in the San Diego Association for the Education of Young Children (SDAEYC) Annual Conference.

Ritblatt, N. S., & Balkwell, C. (June 1996). Comparisons of Grandparent's Images/Roles in Children's Literature in Three Culture. Presented at the Family Research Consortium, San Diego, CA.

Balkwell, C. Ritblatt, N. S., & Deutsch, F. (March, 1996). Grandparent-Grandchild intergenerational Interactions Presented in Children's Books: Multicultural Comparisons. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, Coronado, CA.

Balkwell, C. Ritblatt, N. S., & Deutsch, F.(November 1995) Images of Grandparents Presented in Children's Literature: Multicultural Comparisons of Intergenerational Family Relations. Presented at the National council on Family Relations (NCFR) Annual Conference, Portland, OR.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1995). "Theory of Mind in Preschoolers: False Beliefs, Deception, and Pretend Play", presented in Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).

Ritblatt, S. N. & Mello, B. (1995). "Beyond Piaget: A Hands-on Approach to Develop Theory of Mind in Young Children", presented in the San Diego Association for the Education of Young Children (SDAEYC) Annual Conference.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1994). "Adolescents and the Family", Guest Lecture to undergraduate students in the 371 -Adolescence course, San Diego State University.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1994). "Adolescents- Developmental Tasks", Guest lecture to MFT students in University of San Diego.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1992). "Father - Child Relationship", presented to the graduate students in "Parent - Child Relationships" seminar, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1992). "Grandparents and Divorce", presented to the graduate students in "Divorce Counseling" seminar, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1991). "Mara Selvini Palazzoli - The Milan Family Therapy" , presented to the graduate students in "Family Therapy Theories" course, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University.

Ritblatt, S. N. (1982). "The Developmental Tasks in the Adolescence period", presented at a meeting of high and middle school counselors and guides, Petach Tiqva, Israel.

Ritblatt, S. N. & Rachany 0. (1980). "Family Atmosphere Affects on Breast Cancer Recovery", presented at Echilov Hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Teaching Experience:

Fall (1994), 280 Students
Marriage and the Family (2 sections, 160 Students)
Human Development: Middle Childhood and Adolescence (70 Students)
Developmental Dysfunctions (50 Students)
Spring (1995), 260 Students
Marriage and the Family (2 sections, 160 Students)
Human Development: Middle Childhood and Adolescence (2 sections, 100 Students)
Summer (1995)
Marriage and the Family
Fall (1995), 295 Students
Marriage and the Family (2 sections, 160 Students)
Human Development: Middle Childhood and Adolescence (70 Students)
Developmental Dysfunctions (65 Students)
Winter (1996)
Human Development: Middle childhood and Adolescence
Spring (1996), 230 Students
Marriage and the Family (2 sections, 160 Students)
Human Development: Middle childhood and Adolescence (70 Students)

Community Service:

Research Chair, Board of the San Diego Association for the Education of Young Children (SDAEYC, 1995-).

Board Member of the Exceptional Family Resource Center, San Diego (1995-).

Multicultural Primary Care- "Research Out" Project- Member in the Community Committee (1994-5).

Committee Member in "The Needs Assessment Committee for the Child Care and Development Planning Council in San Diego County" (1996-).

References:

Fran Deutsch, Professor, Chair, Department of Child and Family Development, SDSU.

Carolyn Balkwell, Professor, Department of Child and Family Development SDSU.

Murray Krantz, Professor, Department of Family, Child and Consumer Sciences, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University.

Nicholas Mazza, Professor, School of Social Work, Florida State University.

Calvin Zongker, Professor, Department of Family, Child and Consumer Sciences, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University.

Wayne Hill, Professor, Department of Family, Child and Consumer Sciences, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University.

Amirmn Rviv, Professor, Clinical Psychology for Children, Tel Aviv University.

Sarah Smilansky, Professor, Clinical Psychology for Children, Tel Aviv University.