Since my undergraduate studies at Yeshiva University I have been fascinated by the potential for psychotherapy to help people live richer lives. While studying for Semicha (rabbinic ordination) at Yeshiva University I received a dual masters in counseling and education. I later returned to Yeshiva again to receive a masters degree and doctoral degree in social work.
In the early part of my career I found myself intrigued by cognitive therapy, a form of psychotherapy for anxiety, depression, and many of the sorts of difficulties that my patients were struggling with. Study after study supported the conclusion that lasting improvement can be made through cognitive therapy. This led me to enter an intensive two year internship in cognitive therapy. Since then I have come to believe in the power of the tools of cognitive therapy to help make my patients' lives better.
My interest in cognitive therapy and in how the mind and body interact led me to explore the world of hypnosis. Despite my early suspicion and cynicism, I found a large body of scientific literature and competent professionals who were using hypnosis to really help people! So that led me to enter a second internship in hypnotherapy.
In the years prior to my relocation to Israel, my professional interests led me to working with the adults grappling with medial illness, psychiatric illness, eating disorders, and chemical addictions. This exciting work demanded not only outstanding clinical skills but creativity as well. Indeed, many of my observations and hypotheses about psychotherapy were formed in the fourteen years that I spent working with this population.
My aliya to Jerusalem in ’02 was the culmination of a dream formed many years ago. Raising my family here, writing, teaching, and helping my patients is a miracle that still staggers me.
