How to Choose the Right Therapist

By: Tanya Prochko

Choosing the right therapist may feel overwhelming. Here are some tips to help guide you.

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Simmering Soup: On the Importance of Asking Questions

By: Robin B. Zeiger

Sometimes the question sits on the back burner like low-simmering stew that has all but been forgotten. An innocent question may ignite a fire in a chilly room and we are off in a new direction. Or sometimes it buzzes around like a nasty mosquito.

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What is Somatic Experiencing (SE) ?

By: Ruth Shidlo

As a body-mind practitioner and clinical psychologist, I have found that incorporating principles of Somatic Experiencing (SE) into my practice has provided me with a whole new way of helping people move on with their lives when stressed, anxious, depressed, traumatized, or otherwise in pain (including living with chronic pain). So what then, is Somatic Experiencing, and how does it work?

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Why Staying Together for the Kids Isn’t Doing Anyone Any Favours

By: Micki Lavin-Pell

Micki Lavin-Pell, is a marriage and family therapist of 15+ years, married to Gaby Pell for nearly 18 years +4 kids.   She specializes in helping couples navigate challenges at different stages of their lives and deal with attachment issues that often plague relationships using Emotionally Focused Couples therapy. She co-hosts a podcast featured on www.Jewishcoffeehouse.com, called Real Relationships and can be found on her website www.mickilavinpell.co.il

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Fundamentals of Trauma Recovery (Part 1)

By: Chava Lederer

In trauma recovery, being mindful of your personal gauge will inform you what’s helpful, what is not, what soothes, what activates, what feels good, what is uncomfortable. Listening to your gauge is essential in deciding what’s the best for your recovery.

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Isolation Has Brought Us Together

By: Elan Karten

We’re in isolation, and isolation has brought us together. 

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Caring for the Caregiver

By: Jeanne S. Lankin

As a clinical social worker and therapist for over 30 years and having myself been a caregiver for over 10 years, I have observed that caregiver stress is the single most underreported source of stress for people ranging from 45 until their 80’s.  While caregiving can also be a source of blessing and provide the feeling that you are doing the “right thing” for your elderly loved ones, it is tinged with a multitude of other emotions.  To your friends and family, you may not want to openly express these emotions and feelings. A trained therapist, an expert in these matters, is needed.  

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Intergenerational Trauma in Times of Crisis: Echoes of the Holocaust in the Present

By: Jeanne Lankin

Intergenerational trauma refers to the transmission of trauma responses from one generation to future generations including patterns of coping and survival strategies. In the case of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, trauma may have been communicated not only through shared or unspoken stories but through the emotional messages communicated in the home including generalized fear, silence, secrecy, overprotection, familial dysfunction and vigilance.

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Resilience Series Part 3

By: Esther Adams Aharony

In the previous blog, we discussed strategies to manage our emotional reactivity. Although similar, regulating emotions isn’t quite the same as managing how we react emotionally. Whereas managing emotional reactivity works like a light switch that can dim the frequency and intensity of our emotional reactions, regulating emotions, on the other hand, involves altering our emotional responses to situations. We might consider regulating emotions as our ability to adjust our own emotional states. Sometimes we do this by increasing our positive emotions, whereas other situations are better handled by decreasing our negative emotions. How...

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Grief for the Loss of our Parents

By: Jeanne S. Lankin

Those of us granted life have to face the loss of the most profound of all our relationships. The relationship a person has with a parent, affects every stage of our life. Therefore, losing a parent at each stage in life has unique challenges.

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Life Skills Taught By Horses

By: Esther Adams Aharony

In this insightful blog, we explore the transformative role of equine therapy in children's lives. Horses, far more than majestic creatures, are exceptional teachers, imparting essential life skills to young learners. We delve into how these animals mirror emotions, instill responsibility, and empower children, teaching them about trust, respect, and self-efficacy. This narrative goes beyond riding, highlighting how caring for horses shapes a child's character and resilience, revealing the profound impact of this unique human-animal bond in nurturing confident, empathetic, and responsible individuals.

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Challenges and Advise for People in Self-Quarantine

By: Linda Avitan

Self-quarantine is a situation that can be very stressful and challenging on many levels to oneself and one's relationships. This post examines the areas which may be challenging in an attempt to legitimize those difficulties. I offer the opportunity to reach out and seek ONLINE help in order to get through this trying period in a positive way.

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40 Years of Research: Why Solving Your Marital Disputes is Not the Solution

By: Daniel Fund

Many couples think that they just need to be able to find an agreement, a compromise, a solution to their disagreements. And that couples' therapy is about solving their disagreements. In fact, for many years this is how couples' therapists approached therapy as well. Unfortunately, this approach failed and statistically, their success rates were very low. But the field of couples therapy research has changed dramatically. In the last 40 years, Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Leslie Greenberg, and Dr. Sue Johnson, to name a few major names have made real breakthroughs, having studied many thousands of couples, watching them closely in action, on live cameras, video, behind one-way glasses and otherwise. One of Gottman's findings is that about 70% of our disagreements as couples, never get solved! And this is true not only for failing couples but for the very successful couples as well! So, if solving problems is not what leads to success, what does? The answer is that as a therapist, I can help them reach such an emotional bond that makes the issue of solving problems redundant, a non-issue. Once they have this bond, they will not necessarily need me to solve their problems. Find out more inside.

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Simcha Guilt

By: Elan Karten

A therapist reflects on his sleeplessness on the eve of his son's wedding.

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How to Connect With Your Partner in the Pandemic and Beyond

By: Judy Markose

Consider this dream: you and your partner experience the pandemic with your marriage intact and your family even closer and more connected than ever. You can practice a more loving way of relating, with more kindness and giving. This blog offers practical tips for becoming a great communicator, being a generous listener, and adding gratitude to your relationship.

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How to Track Anxiety and Help Resolve It

By: Ruth Shidlo

We need our ‘signal’ anxiety, because otherwise, we’d be more vulnerable to danger.

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The Connection Between ADHD and Anxiety Disorders or Depression

By: Aviva Zahavi-Asa

Several theories exist to explain the higher incidence of anxiety disorders or depression among individuals with ADHD. One theory presumes that because the same neurobiological systems that control attention also control mood, it is reasonable to assume that the neurological causes of ADHD also cause anxiety disorders or depression. Another theory posits that anxiety disorders or depression are an outcome of living with ADHD, especially if attention difficulties have gone undiagnosed or untreated for many years, often leading to chronic feelings of failure, frustration, disappointment and being overwhelmed.

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Lets Talk About Therapy The Same Way We Talk About Going To the Gym

By: Keren Burgman

Imagine how much easier life would be if therapy was seen simply as a form…

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Back To School With ADHD

By: Linda Avitan

Advice to parents who face particular challenges around back-to-school among children with ADHD. Suggestions are offered in the context of common challenges such as difficulties with lack of routine, learning new habits and impulsivity. I invite parents to consult with me to examine ways to understand what's behind certain behaviors and build strategies, smoothing the way for better coping.

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