Education
EMDR Training (2022)
Cantorial Certification (2020)
Cantorial Internship Program of the Cantors Assembly (CICA)
Master’s Degree (MS, 1986)
Social Work
Columbia University
Field Work (1985-1986)
Members’ Assistance Program
District 65-UAW
Field Work (1984-1985)
Methadone Maintenance Program
Beth Israel Medical Center
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (BA, 1984)
Psychology
University of Pennsylvania
Licenses & Professional Designations
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) – Georgia
- Cantor (Clergy) in the Conservative Movement of Judaism
Honors, Awards & Memberships
- National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
- The Cantors Assembly
Specialties
- Depression and Anxiety
- Interpersonal, Relationship, Marriage and Family Issues
- Life Cycle Events and Transitions
- Aging and Older Adult Concerns
- Grief and Loss
- Religious, Spiritual and Existential Issues
- LGBTQ+ Issues
- Women’s Issues
- Work-Related or Academic Stressors
- Chronic Illness
- Caregiver Stress
- Childhood Sexual Abuse
- Codependency
- Issues Related to Jewish Identity Including: Familial Relationships, Religious Observance, Spiritual Exploration, Intermarriage, Conversion, the Holocaust and Anti-Semitism
Clinical & Consulting Interests
- The Roaring 20s, a closed, 16 week therapy/support group for people in their 20s dealing with managing the competing demands involved in becoming an adult such as: coping with stresses and issues in your interpersonal, social, romantic, work and family of origin relationships, negotiating the transition from school to work, issues around work/career choices, leisure activities and managing money.
- Cultural Immersion Trips
What it’s Like to Work with Me
My approach to therapy can be captured in three words: compassion, clarity and courage. Every client deserves to be met with kindness and acceptance. When you begin treatment with me, we focus on your immediate concerns and then delve deeper into their roots at the pace that feels safe and comfortable for you. I don’t cling to any one therapeutic technique or paradigm; I borrow from cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, systems theory and solution-focused approaches depending on my sense of what is most likely to be effective at the time. My goal is to support you in coping with difficult emotions, to identify and change self-defeating thoughts, to challenge irrational beliefs, and to help you make decisions about your behavior in order to move you forward in a positive direction in your life.
Through the therapeutic process, you will be able to own and understand your unique experiences and feel safe, supported, and valued while doing so. You can overcome fear, shame, guilt and self-doubt and learn to use anger constructively. You can expect to improve relationships, establish, and maintain interpersonal boundaries and manage or end toxic relationships. My goal is to help you truly make sense of your experience. You are the expert on you and a great therapist can help you fully understand and heal your past, evaluate your present and achieve the future you desire.
Personal Highlights
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over thirty years of experience in mental healthcare. I am highly experienced in working with people from various cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations and am exceptionally well qualified to help clients deal with Jewish identity issues, Jewish spiritual exploration, holocaust-related issues and intermarriage.
My hobbies
In my spare time, I enjoy gardening, traveling, singing and writing original musical parodies.