H. Shmuel Erlich (Hebrew: שמואל ארליך; born July 11, 1937, in Frankfurt) is an Israeli psychoanalyst, organizational consultant and psychologist of clinical psychology.

[2] Almost two years after Shmuel Erlich's birth, at the end of 1938, his parents left Nazi Germany because of the political developments and the growing threat to the German-Jewish family, and went to Palestine with their son.

[3] From 1965 to 1967 he was granted a post-graduate scholarship from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) which made it possible for him to do research in clinical psychology at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Already certified as a clinical psychologist, he received another certificate in 1971 in which the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) elected him as the best in his profession.

As a co-founder of the Nazareth-Conferences he has been part of the so-called staff since 1994, a position he maintained in subsequent conferences under the auspices of Partners in Confronting Collective Atrocities (PCCA).

[15] The focus of Shmuel Erlich's scientific interest and work is psychoanalytic theory and its applications, including psychotherapy and the exploration of identity.

With his organizational consultations Shmuel Erlich wants to contribute to a deeper understanding that organizations have of themselves, their structures and power relationships, allowing them to become aware of the role of possible corruption and regressive processes.

With his method Erlich wants to encourage people to think rationally in emotionally-charged situations in order to gain a deeper understanding of how social and political events influence one's mind and soul.

H. Shmuel Erlich’s brilliant effort to link what is in our minds with our outer world perceptions opens the possibility of a more complex engagement in our lives.

After he had created the ward for young people at the Psychiatric Hospital Eitanim, Shmuel Erlich remained there for fifteen years.

[19] In order to endure and master the often extremely divergent feelings of strength, weakness and dependence and the simultaneously felt intensive regression needs, the adolescent uses the defense mechanism of denial, which can lead to splitting.

This is demonstrated in a case study which describes the reactions of young people to the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

[21] Shmuel Erlich's scientific interest was directed early on to the question of how people process their inner mental and emotional experiences.

The process has a major influence on the way in which people view themselves and also how they organize their relationships with their fellow human beings and their environment.

If people find themselves in “Doing Mode”, their opposite partner is seen as separate and independent, and the relationship is based on “cause and effect, dominated by purpose and aim, direct and chronological”.