Education & Background:
I received my Masters degree in 1995 from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in NYC. I have enjoyed helping people since I was a teenager, when I started my 10-year volunteer service working with chronically disabled patients at Goldwater Memorial Hospital. This led to my career in social work.
My extensive background as a social worker has provided me with special skills and life experiences that I bring to my psychotherapy practice. My past positions have included working as a case manager at The Jewish Association of Services for the Aged-Protective Services for Adults (JASA-PSA), and as a psychiatric social worker at New Horizon Counseling Center, where I led therapy groups and counseled chronically mentally ill adults. I have always been a strong advocate for my clients.
Clinical Orientation:
We have all faced pain in our lives. I empathize strongly with my clients and their struggles. I am warm, encouraging, a strong motivator, and honor each individual’s unique characteristics and strengths. In that spirit, I try to tailor my methods to the individual needs of the client – utilizing psychodynamic, humanistic and cognitive behavioral therapy modes.
Special Interests:
I have a very strong rapport and enjoy working with the elderly, having been very close to my grandparents, who helped raise me.
As an adoptive parent, I also have a special interest in adoptive and infertility counseling, as well as attachment and trauma.
I am very sensitive to spiritual and religious concerns and their role in healing emotional pain. While I have particular knowledge about the Jewish community, my interest in spirituality extends to all faiths, as well as multi-cultural issues.
I also enjoy working with couples, families, college students and artists.
Professional Associations:
• National Anger Management Association (NAMA)
• American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress (AAETS)
• National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
• ATTACh (Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children)
• American Fertility Association (AFA)
• Give an Hour (a network of therapists providing free counseling services to returning troops and their families)
*** NAMA Certified Anger Management Specialist-I ***
*** Certified Beyond Consequences Institute (BCI) instructor ***
(The BCI model is a love-based approach to handling children with severe behaviors.)
You can access my blog on Aging & Geriatric Issues at:
http://www.goodtherapy.org/therapy-for-aging.html